Class _ 
Book _ 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT 



3^? ^§S^ ^fc* ^il^ ^fc^ ^05* 



i Beasts and § 

I Sevens of | 

I Revelations ! 

* * 

«ft -non i so jv jg, 

t + 

4* 

i * 

± * 

i * 



BEASTS AND SEVENS 
OF REVELATIONS 

J*^*<k By 

L. K. Robinson, Cove, Oregon 

M 

Price $1.00 by Mail 




Copyrighted 1917 
By L. K. Robinson 



APR 16 1917 



©Clft4579?9 



INTRODUCTORY 



Chapter I. 

The book of Revelations is a symbolical book, written 
in Beasts and Sevens. We have the seven headed and ten 
horned red dragon of chapter 12, the seven headed and 
ten horned, and the two horned beasts of chapter 13. (The 
beast of the 17th chapter is the seven headed and ten 
horned beast of chapter 13 brought to view a second time, 
in order to show us the: means by which God aims to 
destroy the Catholic church. 

Then we have the seven churches, the book with seven 
seals, the seven trumpets, and the seven last plagues. In 
in the 17th chapter John gives us an explanation of the 
seven headed and ten horned beast and of the woman he 
carried. This explanation taken together with the work 
and description of the red dragon and the two-horned beast 
gives us a correct clue to their interpretation, as well as the 
symbolical meaning of woman in Revelations. The sevens 
are not explained to any considerable extent, their true in- 
terpretation is found, in the main, by their connection with 
the beast. The reader must understand that the expla- 
nations given in the beasts hold good in the sevens; like- 
wise the explanations given in the sevens hold good in the 
beasts. For instance in the first chapter the Savior said 
that the Seven Stars that he held in his right hand were 
the angels of the churches; that is, the messengers or 
pastors of the churches. In the twelfth chapter it is 
stated, that, the tail of the dragon drew one-third of the 
stars of heaven and cast them; to' the earth. This great 
red dragon, as will be shown in this work, was a symbol of 
the Roman empire. The teacher of lies" is the tail when 
a government is spoken of as an animal, and through them 

* Isa 9-15 — The prophet that teaches lies is the tail. 



1 BEASTS AND SEVENS OF REVELATIONS 

persecution always comes. It was the tail that cast to 
the ground or slew one-third of the pastors of the true 
churches. Thus if we accept the explanation given by 
Christ of the Stars, we learn the extent of the havoc played 
by the Roman empire, among the pastors of the true 
churches. The reader should remember that the red dragon 
symbolized the Roman empire, not only in its united state 
as in the days of Christ, but in its divided condition to 
this day. So that it is one-third of all the true pastors 
or teachers that were slain. 

The explanations in the beasts apply equally well in the 
sevens. In the twelfth chapter, and also in the twentieth, 
John identifies the dragon with that old serpent, the devil 
and Satan. Let us take this explanation and go to the 
seven churches of the second and third chapters. "And to 
the angel of the church in Smyrna write: These things 
saith the first and the last, who was dead, and lives again: 
I know thy tribulation, and thy poverty (but thou art rich) 
and the blasphemy of them that say they are Jews and 
they are not, but iare the Synagogue of Satan/' Rev. 2-1. 2. 

Satan as identified with the dragon, is the symbol of the 
Roman empire or emperor here as elsewhere. The Syna- 
gogue of Satan, or the Roman emperor, can be easily identi- 
fied by the claim she makes. Paul says: Rom. 2-28-29: 
"For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly: neither is that 
circumcision which is outward in the flesh: but he is a 
Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the 
heart, in the spirit not in the letter: whose praise is not 
of men, but of God." ''The claim of this Synagogue to be 
Jews or real believers in Christ, points unerringly to the 
Roman Catholic church as she is the only institution of 
the Roman emperor that ever made such claim. That the 
Catholic church is an institution of the Roman empire goes 



INTRODUCTORY — ' 



THE BOOK SYMBOLICAL 



3 



without saying; not only the fostering care of Constantine 
and other emperors but the internal changes made in the 
church at Rome and other large churches, to say nothing 
of the right claimed by Constantine to appoint the pastors 
or patriarchs of the four great cities of the empire, certainly 
justifies the Savior in denouncing the institution as a 
synagogue of Satan and their claim to being Jews, blas- 
phemy. The churches of Rev. 2 and 3 are representative 
or symbolical churches, each one representing all the true 
churches for the age it stands. All the seven churches taken 
together symbolize all the true churches from the time 
Christ went away until he returns. The time from the first 
to the second coming of Christ being divided into seven 
periods, each church of the seven would represent a period. 
It's not necessary that periods be of equal length. This 
view of the seven churches corresponds with the make-up 
of the rest of the book of Revelations, >and agrees with what 
Christ, himself, says in the first chapter: "The Revelation 
of Jesus Christ which God gave him to show unto his 
servants, even the things which must shortly come to pass/' 
Not the existing conditions then, but things to come to pass." 
The Catholic church was adopted and remodeled by Con- 
stantine in the second period, the period symbolized by 
the church at Smyrna), in the year A. D\ 325. He that 
would understand Revelations must believe in the perpetu- 
ity of the true churches. He must understand that the 
church of the Roman emperor is no part nor parcel of the 
true church. That the poor despised persecuted churches 
that stood aloof from the empire church are recognized as 
the true churches and these letters are addressed to them. 
The first letter, the letter to Ephesus, shows no division of 
the churches into the false and true ones. The first letter 
represents the churches for about the first three centuries. 
The second letter shows the division of the churches into the 



4 



BEASTS AND SEVENS OF REVELATIONS 



false and true. It also points out the empire church as the 
false one, and brands even her claim to be true as blas- 
phemy. The rest of the seven letters directly or indirectly 
show the continuation of the division and still point to the 
same parties as the false and true. The empire church 
though pointed out under the symbol of Jezebel is still 
the false while the persecuted heretics are still recognized 
as the true churches, and to them the letters are addressed. 
But as these matters are more fully developed in the work 
we drop it here; only in confirmation of our theory, that 
the sevens and beasts must be taken together, and be 
interpreted together, would say that the seven trumpets, 
which cover the same ground as the red dragon and beasts, 
for the first four which brings us down to the Lutheran 
reformation, show the destruction of the one-third of the 
true ministry the same, though under different symbols, 
as is indicated by the tail of the dragon casting one-third 
of the stars to the ground. 



THE GREAT RED DRAGON AND THE WOMAN 



5 



Chapter 2. 

THE GREAT RED DRAGON AND THE WOMAN. 

Before entering into an explanation of the great signs of 
the woman and the dragon, I wish to make some remarks 
as regards the question of interpretation of the book of 
Revelations generally. 

First — I regard the red dragon of chapter 12 and the two 
beasts of chapter 13 as the key to ia correct understanding 
of the whole book. The sevens are so related to and con- 
nected with the history of these beasts that if we under- 
stand correctly the beast we may also readily understand 
the sevens. 

Second — That John, so far as he explains his work, must 
be taken as the standard; that John, taken together with 
Daniel and other scriptural writers, will enable us correctly 
to understand the Revelations, if we stick to them. After 
a few quotations to show the connection between the beasts 
and the sevens we are ready to take up the great signs. 

We take first the seven last plagues. The first angel 
pours out his vial of wrath and it takes effect upon those 
who have the mark of the beast and who worship his image. 
The fifth angel pours his vial upon the seat or throne of the 
beast and his kingdom is filled with darkness. The sixth 
angel pours out his vial and the three unclean spirits, like 
frogs, come out of the mouths of the dragon beast and false 
prophet. The reader can see at once the impossibility of 
understanding these plagues apart from the beasts. 

We take the seven trumpets, and the connection with the« 
beast is here also; not only do they show the one-third of 
the true pastors killed, as indicated by the tail of the dragon 
casting one-third of the stars to the ground, but under the 
sounding of the sixth angel John gives a history of the 
witnesses and says: "And when they shall have finished 



6 



BEASTS AND SEVENS OF REVELATIONS 



their testimony the beast that cometh up out of the abyss 
shall make war with them and overcome them and kill 
them." Rev. 11-7. 

Neither can any man give an intelligent explanation of 
the lettters to the seven churches, recorded in the second 
and third chapters of Revelations, if he fails to accept the 
explanation which John gives of the woman of the seven- 
teenth chapter, or fails to take notice that John identifies 
the red dragon of chapter twelve with that old serpent 
called the Devil and Satan. The reader must see that the 
book of Revelations is connected in all of its parts, that 
the explanations given in one part are applicable through- 
out the whole. 

THE GREAT SIGNS. 

"And a great sign was seen in heaven: a woman arrayed 
with the sun and the moon under her feet and upon her 
head a crown of twelve stars: and she was with child; and 
she crieth out travailing in birth, and in pain to be deliv- 
ered." Rev. 12-1, 2. 

This woman is generally explained by commentators, 
to symbolize the church. But such a theory at once sets 
John aside as his own interpreter, as he gives no such in- 
terpretation of woman. Such theory would likewise indi- 
cate a change in the divine mind, as Christ in the commis- 
sion charged the church to go into all the world and to 
preach the gospel to the whole creation. But this woman 
fled into the wilderness to a place of hiding from the face 
of the serpent. Such theory would likewise indicate that 
the church was not a new Testament institution. Jesus, 
himself, testifed that the law and the prophets were until 
John; that since that time the Kingdom of Heaven is 
preached. He makes the preaching of John the dividing 
line between the old and the new. "But this woman 



THE GREAT RED DRAGON AND THE WOMAN 



7 



brought forth the man child, who is to rule the nations with 
& rod of iron. That man child is Christ, as will be shown 
later. Now if this woman represents the church she must 
have been in existence at the birth of Christ, as the mother 
must exist before her child; hence she is a law institution 
according to the dividing line set by Christ. 

This woman does not represent the church in any way. 
iShe represents Jerusalem, the capital city of natural 
Israel. As a capital city she embraces the people over 
■which she rules. This interpretation agrees with the rule 
given by John for the interpretation of woman. It agrees 
perfectly with every word in the description given of the 
woman. It is also in agreement, historically, with the 
woman's work. 

The Jewish worship was ceremonial and imperfect; 
when it had accomplished its purpose, God set it aside. 
The woman fled into the wilderness, But the church He 
sent into the world to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom. 
But what does John say a woman represents? "And the 
woman whom thou sawest is the great city which reigneth 
over the Kings of the earth." Rev. 17-18. Here he says 
& woman represents a reigning city. In Rev. 21-9-10: 
"Come hither I will show thee the bride, the Lamb's wife. 
And he carried me away in the spirit to a mountain great 
and high, and show r ed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming 
4pwn out of Heaven from God." Here the Lamb's wife is 
used to point out the new Jerusalem, the capital city of the 
new earth. In the mouth of two witnesses every word 
shall be established. A woman in Revelations symbolizes a 
capital city. If she ever symbolizes a church that is sec- 
ondary and incidental; that happens from the fact that said 
church is the reigning power in such city. But the church 
is -a spiritual institution set up by the God of Heaven and 
she has never been the reigning power in any capital city 



8 



EEASTS AND SEVENS OF REVELATIONS 



of the earth; hence John nowhere symbolizes the true 
church by a woman. A reigning city is always meant, where 
woman is used as a symbol. 

We will now examine the: description of the woman and 
see if it will apply to natural Israel, for if this woman 
points to Jerusalem, the capital city of Israel, she embraces 
the people over wdiich she reigns. She was clothed in the 
sun. As a nation her laws came directly from God. The 
moon was under her feet. Other nations receive their laws, 
only in an indirect w r ay from God; in this respect all 
nations were under the feet of Israel. She had a crown of 
twelve stars — the nation was composed of twelve tribes. 
If we accept the rule given by John for the interpretation of 
woman there is but one question to settle, and that is, what 
capital city does this woman symbolize? We have seen 
that the description of the woman points to Jerusalem. 
We will now find that the work and history of the woman 
makes it absolutely certain that Jerusalem is the city sym- 
bolized. This woman brought forth the man child, who 
is to rule the nation with a rod of iron. "Ask of me and I 
will give thee the nations for thine inheritance and the ut- 
termost parts of the earth for thy possession. Thou shalt 
break them with a rod of iron. Thou shalt dash them in 
pieces like a potter's vessel." Psalms 2-8-9. Our Savior 
claims this prophesy as referring to himself ; he says : "And 
he that overcometb and keepth my works unto the end, to 
him will I give power over the nations; And he shall rule 
them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they 
be broken to shivers even as I received of my Father." Rev. 
2-26-27. Again John says of Christ: "And out of His 
mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it He should smite the 
nations; and He shall rule them with a rod of iron." Rev. 
19-15. 

Truly Christ is the man child brought by the woman, 



THE GREAT RED DRAGON AND THE WOMAN 9 

who is to rule the nations with a; rod of iron, and who would 
have the hardihood to say, that he did not spring from the 
nation of Israel? And this woman's son was caught up 
unto God and unto His throne. This can be said of no one 
save Christ. And after the ascension of the woman's 
son she fled into the wilderness. In the year 70 A. D., and 
in the years from 132 to 135, the Jews were en- 
tirely denationalized by the Romans and scattered 
among the nations, from which dispersion they have 
never recovered as a nation. They are in the wilder- 
ness as a nation. But, though scattered and peeled, they 
are still preserved as a people and only wait the time when, 
according to their prophets, they will be, regathered as a 
nation and under Christ, their King, set on high over all 
the nations of earth. 

THE DRAGON. 

"And there appeared another wonder in Heaven; and 
behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, 
and seven crowns upon his heads. And his tail drew the 
third part of the stars of Heaven and did cast them to the 
earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was 
ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it 
was born." Rev. 12-3-4. This great red dragon symbo- 
lized the Roman empire. And believing that this dragon 
and the beasts of chapter thirteen form the key to a cor- 
rect understanding of Revelations we wish to examine 
liim closely. The reader should remember that after John 
saw the things recorded in the first three chapters from the 
Isle of PatmoSj he was given a new viewpoint, from which 
he saw things; that is, he was carried into Heaven in the 
spirit, where he saw signs. But though the signs were 
seen in Heaven, the things signified by the signs were to 
take place on the earth. John identified the dragon with 



10 



BEASTS AND SEVENS OF REVELATIONS 



that old serpent, the Devil and Satan. He says: "And 
the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the 
Devil and Satan." Rev. 12-9. As if the Lord could not 
find an animal that would properly represent the great- 
empire, he represents it* by the Devil, giving him such 
body and parts as would best describe the empire. The 
reader should remember that the great dragon not only sym- 
bolized the empire in its united state as at the first coming of 
Christ, but in its divided condition, as at this day and on 
down to the second coming. This is shown by the ten horns 
of the dragon. In other words the entire territory, once 
covered by the empire, is today and has been and will be, 
down to the second coming, symbolized by the dragon or the 
devil, so that today the nations occupying that territory may 
properly be called the dragon nations. The two horned 
beast of chapter thirteen is not a dragon nation, but he 
speaks as one. 

What territory then was covered by the empire? It 
practically covered Europe, North Africa, and Western Asia. 
It reached from the Euphrates in Asia to the British Isles in 
Europe, and from the desert in Africa to the German states 
in Europe. All this vast territory was signified by the 
dragon. It may be objected that the territory is now 
divided into more than ten parts. I answer that there is 
ample time yet to arrange it into the required parts. John 
was brought down to time some 40 or 50 years later than this, 
as we will show, and the ten Kings had not received their 
Kingdoms then. He says: "And the ten horns which thou 
sawest are ten Kings, which have received no Kingdom as 
yet; but receive power as Kings one hour with the beast.'' 
Rev. 17-12. But it is absolutely necessary that the horns 
on the dragon and the horns on the beast should point to 
the same ten divisions of the empire. The horns on the beast 
evidently point to the divisions as they will exist at the 



THE GREAT RED DRAGOX AND THE WOMAN 



11 



coming of Christ, for these ten horns with the beast engage 
him in battle when he comes. 

Here is a point that I am very anxious that the reader 
should catch', as there were candlesticks long before Jesus 
used them as symbols of his churches. So the Devil existed 
long before he was used to symbolize t 1 ri ' and there 
are things said of him without any reference whatever to 
the Roman empire. For instance his war in Heaven with 
Michael, and his being chained by the angel, after the beast, 
the last representative of the empire, has been thrown into 
the lake of fire. It seems from the reading of the Scrip- 
tures that before the crucifixion and ascension of Jesus, 
that the Devil had a greater sphere of action than now. 
Jesus said just before his death: "Now is the judgment of 
this world ; now shall the prince of this world be cast out." 
John 12-31. Again he said: "I beheld Satan as lightning 
fall from Heaven.' 1 It seems that soon after the ascension 
of our Savior that Michael was appointed to put him out of 
Heaven. John thus describes it: "And there was war in 
Heaven : Michael and his angels fought against the dragon ; 
and the dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed not; 
neither was their place found any more in Heaven. And 
the great dragon was cast out. that old serpent, called the 
Devil and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was 
cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with 
him/' Rev. 12-7-9. But it is with Satan, given such body 
and parts as best suited the Savior's purpose in pointing 
out the Roman empire, that we have now to do. 

The great dragon had seven heads. The dragon and 
the seven-headed beast of chapter seventeen represent the 
same country in different ages; hence the explanations 
given of the beast in the seventeenth apply in part to the 
dragon. We notice according to these explanations the 
heads serve a two-fold purpose: First, they point to the 



12 



BEASTS AND SEVENS OF REVELATIONS 



seat of government ; second, to the rulers. We should also 
observe that while both heads and horns point to kings, 
they are different; for while the heads point to different 
rulers of the same country, the horns point to kings of dif- 
ferent countries. The seven heads point to the seven hills 
on which the city of Rome was built. The Caesars and the 
Popes occupied the same capital city. The heads on the 
dragon point also to the Caesars. The number seven indi- 
cates a complete cycle. They point to the entire round of 
the Caesars, and not to just seven of them. There were 
crowns on the heads; the Caesars wore the crowns, but 
afterwards, when the empire was divided into the ten 
Kingdoms, the crowns were transferred to the horns. See 
the beast of chapter thirteen. The dragon stood before the 
woman in order to destroy her child as soon as it was born. 
The Romans had held the Jews in subjection from the days 
of Pompey the Great 63 years before the birth of Christ. 
Herod the Great was an agent of the empire and when 
the wise men announced the birth of Christ he made 
a great effort to kill Him, slaying all the male children 
of Bethlehem. Note that after the birth of Christ is shown 
here, his entire life is omitted except his ascension. The 
dragon persecuted the woman; after the ascension of the 
Savior the Romans utterly destroyed the city of Jerusalem 
and scattered the Jews to the four winds. In the last verse 
of the twelfth chapter we have this: "And the dragon was 
wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the 
remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God 
and have the testimony of Jesus Christ." 

Jesus Christ, according to Paul, is the seed of Abraham, 
unto whom the promises were made, and this remnant of the 
woman's seed, "which keep the commandments of God 
and have the testimony of Jesus Christ" is the church. 
Truly the Roman empire not only persecuted the Jews, but 



THE SEVEN HEADED AND TEN HORNED BEAST 13 



played sad havoc with the church. Now if the reader 
will accept John as authority, I can tell him to what extent 
this "remnant" suffered. John speaks of the dragon thus: 
•'And his tail drew the third part of the stars of Heaven and 
did cast them to the earth/' Rev. 12-4. When an animal 
is used to symbolize a government, the tail points to lying 
teachers who bring the Saints to the courts to be punished. 
In the first chapter of Revelations, Christ in giving an 
explanation of the stars and candlesticks, said the stars were 
the angels of the churches, that is, the messengers or pastors. 
It was then one-third of the pastors that the tail of the 
dragon cast to the ground. Now if the reader will examine 
the first four trumpets, Rev. 8, which show political affairs 
and cover the same ground as the dragon, he will find under 
different symbols that it was not only one-third of the 
pastors, but one-third of the church as well. We will notice 
these trumpets later in this work. It was between the time 
of Christ's ascension and the destruction of Jerusalem that 
the war in Heaven occurred. John says: "And when the 
dragon saw that he was cast into the earth, he persecuted 
the woman which brought forth the man child." We learn 
that the Devil came dowm to the earth having great wrath 
knowing that he hath but a short time. We must under- 
stand that his "short time" covers this entire age from the 
first to the second coming of our Savior. The Savior said : 
"Surely I come quickly." This quickly covers this age. 
Again: "The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave 
unto him, to show unto his servants things which must 
shortly come to pass." 

But it required the entire age for the fulfillment of all 
the things shown. The dragon will be chained at the be- 
ginning of the next age ; this age is his "short time," and 
well is he manifesting his wrath. 



14 



BEASTS AND SEVENS OF REVELATIONS 



Chapter 3. 

THE SEVEN HEADED AND TEN HORNED BEAST. 

"And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast 
rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, 
.and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the 
name of blasphemy.'' Rev. 13-1. This beast is a symbol 
of the papal Kingdom — not the papacy as is sometimes 
supposed; there is quite a difference: there w r as a papacy 
long before there was a papal kingdom — we have the papacy 
today but no papal kingdom. This beast and the beast of 
the seventeenth chapter are one and the same; we must 
study both chapters in order to get all the history of the 
beast. John explains the beast in the seventeenth chap- 
ter, and his explanation sets aside all question as to what is 
symbolized by the beast. 

"This beast arose from the sea/' John in Rev. 17-15 tells 
us what is meant by the waters. He says: "And he saith 
unto me: The waters which thou saw^est, where the whore 
sitteth are peoples, and mutitudes and nations and 
tongues." "Where the whore sits" — that is, the people that 
Rome controls, for this whore is the city of Rome. We 
read: "And the woman w^hich thou sawest is that great 
city, which reigneth over the Kings of the earth." Rev. 
17-18. The sea then would point to the people controlled 
or ruled by the city of Rome. In other words the sea 
points to the Roman Catholic church as it is and always has 
been controlled from Rome. This beast arose from the 
sea or the people ruled by Rome, the Catholic church. 

"The dragon gave him his power and his seat, and great 
authority." Rev. 13-2. We have already noticed the 
dragon, the symbol of the Roman empire, not only in its 
united but in its divided condition. In the year 754, Pepin, 
King of France, marched his army into Italy, conquered 



THE SEVEN HEADED AND TEN HORNED BEAST 15 

the Lombard King and took from him twenty cities. He 
made the Pope a present of these cities and started him 
on his career as a temporal King. Afterward in various 
ways, mainly by fraud, he was made King of nearly all 
Italy. France was one of the divisions of the Roman em- 
pire; hence it is said the dragon gave the beast his throne. 
This beast had seven heads. The city of Rome was the 
seat of government, of the Kingdom symbolized by this 
beast, for as explained by John the seven heads point to 
the seven mountains on which Rome was built. This 
settles it beyond all question as to what Kingdom is sym- 
bolized by the beast. For more than eleven hundred years 
Rome has been the capital city of the papal kingdom, and 
until recently the papal kingdom is the only one that has 
had that city as its capital. 

There was the name of blasphemy on the heads of this 
beast; the heads serve a double purpose: they point to 
the rulers as well fas to the seat of government. The claim 
of the Pope to be infallible and Christ's vicegerent and to 
hold the keys of the Kindgom of Heaven, etc., are truly 
blasphemous. We will call attention to the fourth verse of 
the thirteenth chapter: "Arid they worshipped the dragon 
which gave power unto the beast : and they worshipped the 
beast, saying, who is like unto the beast? Who is able to 
make war with him?" 

This double worship of the dragon and beast occurred 
this way: When the Popes induced the rulers of the dif- 
ferent divisions of the empire to pass laws in the interest 
of the Catholic church, or against heretics, and the people 
walked in obedience to these laws, they were in the worship 
of the driagon ; the dragon symbolized the civil power, and, 
as the Popes induced these rulers to pass these laws, they 
were worshipping the beast also. We have already seen 
in the study of the dragon that his tail drew the third part 



16 



BEASTS AND SEVENS OF REVELATIONS 



of the stars and cast them to the ground. This religious 
persecution was rot mitigated by the rise of the papal 
kingdom. We find under the sounding of the trumpet 
of the . second angel, Rev. 8-8, when the great mountain 
was cast into the sea, which points to the rise of the papal 
kingdom, the third was killed afterward as before. In fact 
in all the divisions of the Roman empire, after the rise of 
the papal kingdom leligious persecution was carried on at 
the instigation of the Pope, or by his example. "And it 
was given unto him to make war with the Saints, and to 
overcome them ; and power was given him over all kindreds 
and tongues, and nations." Rev. 13-7. "And power was 
given unto him to continue forty and two months." Chap- 
ter 13-5. These months multiplied by 30 days per month, 
give 1260 days, symbolical time 1260 years. From the year 
754 to the year 1870, when the Pope lost his kingdom, is only 
1116 years, so according to this he is entitled to his king- 
dom 144 years yet. Some seem to think that the papal 
kingdom is over with forever. Bible readers have no 
excuse for falling into that error. This beast will be in the 
zenith of his power and at the head of the combined armies 
of earth, at the coming of Christ. John speaks of this 
beast as a King with an interruption in his reigns: "And 
I saw one cf his heads \as it were wounded to death: and 
his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered 
after the beast. " Chapter 13-3. The heads point to the 
entire line of Popes. One of them was wounded to death. 
In the year 1870 the armies of Italy dethroned the Pope, 
and took possession of his Dominion; they left him, how- 
ever, his palace and other buildings and provided him a 
salary, but as a King they killed him dead. He is now 
treated as a foreign Sovereign residing at Rome. But this 
wound of the beast is to be healed. If we turn to the 
seventeenth chapter, where John saw this beast a second 



THE SEVEN HEADED AND TEX HORNED BEAST 



17 



time, he tells us how it is done. 

"And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven 
heads are seven mountains on which the woman sitteth. 
And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is and 
the other is not yet come, and when he cometh he must 
continue a short space. And the beast that was and is not 
even he is the eighth and is of the seven, (and goeth into 
perdition. " Rev. 17-9-10-11. As the reader may see in 
this quotation the heads of this beast serve a double pur- 
pose. They point out the seat of government, and also point 
to the rulers. The seven heads then on the dragon would 
point to the Caesars and on the beast of the thirteenth 
chapter to the Popes, and in this quotation he also has them 
to point out the line of seven Kings that interrupt the 
reign of the Popes. In other words they point to the pres- 
ent line of Italian Kings. According to this quotation 
there will be seven Kings of this interfering line and then 
the beast, or the Pope, will get the Kingdom again. The 
present King of Italy is the third of this interfering line, 
there will be four more before the Pope regains his throne, 
or the wound is healed. John was brought down in the 
wilderness of time, when the sixth one of this line was 
reigning. He was told that there would be one more who 
would continue a short space. So we may understand when 
the seventh one of this line mounts the throne his reign will 
be short and the Pope will take his place. It seems, also, 
from the reading that he will succeed naturally to the 
throne. This can be easily done when the heir apparent 
to the throne of Italy suits the purpose of the Catholic 
church, they can elect him Pope; then when the throne 
became vacant he would succeed naturally and become the 
eighth of the line of seven. When we speak of the Pope 
as King, we do not mean that one man has lived all these 
1116 years, or that one Pope will occupy the throne for the 



18 



EEASTS AND SEVENS OF REVELATIONS 



remaining 144 years. We speak of the papal office. There 
was a time when the call to the pastorate of the Roman 
Catholic church entitled the man called or elected to the 
pastorate, to a Kingdom. That time will be again. There 
is no way to ascend the papal throne, except through the 
pastorate of the Catholic church. The King of Italy today 
is not on the papal throne, he is ruling the Pope's Dominions, 
but he is no pastor of the Catholic church. The fact stated 
here enables us to understand what John aimed to symbo- 
lize by the abyss or bottomless pit. The reader will 
remember that when the Pope first became King he received 
his throne and authority as a gift from the dragon. That 
is Pepin, King of France, and France, one of the dragon 
nations, gave it to him as a present. But the line of suc- 
cession to this Kingdom was so arranged that it would 
always fall to the pastor of the Catholic church, so that 
today there is no way to ascend the papal throne except 
from that church. Now, as John plainly show T s us in the 
seventeenth chapter, that his seven headed and ten horned 
beast, of the thirteenth chapter, is to ascend the throne 
i.gain from the abyss, after the intervening line of seven 
kings has run its course, and as we have found that there 
is no way to ascend the papal throne except from the Roman 
Catholic church, we are irresistibly driven to conclude that 
the abyss is the Catholic church. While I am on this point 
I will say that that there is not a passage in the Revelations 
where the word abyss occurs, but what it will readily bear 
the same construction, and there is one more pasasge where 
it will admit no other; we will give it: 'They have over 
them as king, the angel of the abyss: his name in Hebrew is 
Abaddon and in the Greek tongue he hath the name Apol- 
lyon." Rev. 9-11. This passage will be explained in another 
place but we bring it up here in order to show that the abyss 
could symbolize nothing but the Catholic church. The 



THE SEVEN HEADED AND TEN HORNED BEAST 19 

letters in the first part of Revelations were addressed to the 
angels of the churches, that is, to the pastors, but here we 
find that the abyss has an angel, or pastor, and he is a king. 
Now we know that the Catholic church is the only institution 
imder Heaven that has a pastor, and that pastor a king, 
but for 1116 years the pastor of the church at Rome was 
a king, and he will be king again. There are pastors that 
are not kings, and there are kings that are not pastors. 
But the Catholic church is the only institution whose pastor 
is king. The -abyss is the Catholic church. This beast the 
second time is to ascend the throne from the abyss and to 
go into perdition. He will ascend the throne of Italy from 
the Catholic church, and Christ at his coming will cast him 
alive into a lake of fire. The lake of fire is perdition. It 
is evident the abyss is used >as a symbol of something and 
these two passages point to the Catholic church as that 
something. 

In the first passage we find that it is the same identical 
beast, whose capital is the city of Rome, that is to ascend 
the throne again, and we have shown that according to 
the line arranged for the succession in the papal kingdom, 
that there is no way to ascend the papal throne except 
through the pastorate of the Catholic church. Now this 
beast is to reascend the throne from the abyss, and as 
he cannot reascend his throne except from the Catholic 
church, the abyss, in this passage, is bound to symbolize 
that church. 

In the second passage quoted we find that the abyss 
has an angel, or pastor, and that that pastor is a king and 
as the Catholic church is the only institution under Heaven 
that has a pastor, and that pastor a king, we are bound 
to conclude that the abyss in this passage also symbolizes 
the Catholic church. As there is no other passage in Reve- 
lations but what will really bear the same construction, I 



20 



BEASTS AND SEVENS OF REVELATIONS 



conclude that the abyss always, in Revelations, symbolizes 
that church. 

There is a great deal yet to say about this beast. The 
greater part said of him in the Revelations is yet in the 
future. He will be greater, after the wound is healed, than 
he has ever bean before. There will yet be given him 
power over every tongue, nation and people. The pro-- 
fessed Christian world believes that the days of the papal 
kingdom are numbered and finished. They walk by sight 
and not by faith. If they could only believe the word of 
God they would see that the beast would be at his greatest 
at the coming of Christ. They think that the world is too 
well civilized and enlightened to bear in the future, from 
this papal kingdom, even what it bore in the past. This 
is an unaccountable delusion, but God foresaw it, listen: 
"And they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose 
names were not written in the book of life from the foun- 
dation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, 
and is not and yet is." Rev. 17-8. Yes, they that dwell 
upon the earth shall wonder when they see the beast, that 
was king and is not king, and yet he is, and shall be king 
again. But why wonder? Does not God tell us that he 
will ascend again? But to all appearance that kingdom is 
all over. The greater the wonder to those who disbelieve 
the Scriptures, but those whose names are in the lamb's 
book of life, will not wonder. The Apostle Paul in his 
second letter to the Thessalonians and in the second chapter 
speaks of this. Son of Perdition almost in precisely the same 
way as does John, and says that Christ will "destroy him 
with the brightness of his coming." Truly then the papal 
kingdom is not at an end for the great beast that Christ 
destroys at his coming is at the head of the combined 
armies of the earth. John says: "And I saw the beast, 
and the kings of the earth, and their armies gathered 



THE SEVEX HEADED AND TEX HORXED BEAST 21 



together to make war against Him that sat on the horse and 
gainst his army. And the beast was taken, and with him 
the false prophet that wrought miracles before him with 
which he deceived them that had received the mark of the 
beast, and that worshiped his image. These both were 
cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. And 
the remnant were slain with the sword of Him that sat 
upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth 
and all the fowls were filled with their flesh." Rev. 19-19- 
20-21. This is the last and greatest battle that ever has 
been fought, or will be fought upon this earth. Christ and 
his army from Heaven meet this great beast and the false 
prophet and the combined armies of the earth in battle. 
This battle will be fought at the coming of Christ as shown 
here, and also in the prophets, and it proves conclusively 
that the papal kingdom will not come to a final end till 
then. 

We have then come only to the wound of the beast. This 
g-'eat battle is called the Winepress and John states spe- 
iiieally that Christ treads it: "And out of his? mouth 
goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the n.i- 
tions: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he 
treadeth the Winepress of the fierceness and wrath of 
Almighty God." Rev. 19-15. 

That we may understand the awfulness of this great bat- 
tle, called the Winepress, we will examine some, of the 
Scriptures that speak of it: "And the Winepress was 
trodden without the city, and blood came out of the Wine- 
press, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand 
and six hundred furlongs." Rev. 14-20. All the battles 
of the earth sink into insignificance beside this one, where 
the blood runs to the bridles of the horses for two hundred 
miles. But for the fact that the prophets unite in one 
voice speaking of the greatness of the occasion, we would 



22 



BEASTS AND SEVENS OF REVELATIONS 



think that perhaps we had misunderstood John, and that 
the thing could not be. But it is an easy thing to identify 
the Winepress of Revelations with the Winepress of the 
Prophets. "Who is this that cometh from Edom, with 
dyed garments from Bozrah? This that is glorious in his 
apparel, marching in the greatness of his strength? I, that 
speak in righteousness, mighty to save. Wherefore art thou 
red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth 
in the winefat? I have trodden the winepress alone ; and 
of the peoples there was no man with me: yea, I trod 
them in mine anger and trampled them in my wrath: and 
their life blood is sprinkled upon my garments and I have 
stained all my raiment. For the day of vengeance was 
in my heart, and the year of my redeemed is come. And 
I looked, and there was none to help, and I wondered that 
there was none to uphold : therefore mine own arm brought 
salvation unto me: and my wrath it upheld me. And I 
trod down the people in mine anger, and made them drunk 
in my wrath, and I poured out their lifeblood on the earth." 
Isaiah 63-1 to 7. This Winepress is so manifestly the same 
as that of Revelations that it is only necessary to mention 
a few marks of identity. They both are fought by Christ. 
In both cases he stains his garments in their blood. In 
both cases the battle takes place in connection with the 
day of wrath and God's vengeance. Isaiah stretches the line 
of battle from Bozrah, in Edom, to Jerusalem, in Canaan. 
If the reader will take a map of that country and measure 
the distance between the two places he will easily find 
the two hundred miles of John the Revelator. Finally, 
Joel speaks also of this same Winepress, for Christ fights 
it, and he calls the battle ground the valley of decision. 
Then there is but one Winepress battle. If things are 
settled here a second battle would be unnecessary. It may 
be asked, what things are decided? This, Christ has 



THE SEVEN HEADED AND TEN HORNED BEAST 23 



heired the world and all the nations thereof that he might 
rule them with a rod of iron, but the beast and the kings 
of the whole earth dispute his right ; hence they are gathered 
with all their armies to decide the matter. Christ comes 
off victorious over all his enemies with only one-sixth of 
them spared, whidh go up to Jerusalem from year to year 
to worship him. Christ resurrects the throne of his father 
David, and with his resurrected Saints assumes dominion 
over all the earth. We will now give the quotation from 
Joel, third chapter: "Proclaim ye this among the nations; 
prepare war; stir up the mighty men; let all the men of 
war draw near; let them come up. Beat your plowshares 
into swords, and your pruning hooks into spears: let the 
weak say, I am stiong! Haste ye, and come, all ye nations 
'round about, and gather yourselves together: thither 
cause thy mighty ones to come down, Jehovah. Let the 
nations bestir themselves and come up to the valley of 
Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the nations 
round about. Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe ; 
come tread ye, for the winepress is full, the vats overflow ; 
for their wickedness is great. Multitudes, multitudes in the 
valley of decision! for the d ! ay of Jehovah is near in the 
valley of decision." John, himself, identifies the winepress 
with the great battle of Ezekiel, chapters 38 and 39, he says: 
"And I saw an angel standing in the sun: and he cried 
with a loud voice saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst 
of Heaven. Come and gather yourselves together unto the 
eupper of the Great God." Rev. 19-17. The sun in Reve- 
lations is a symbol of the Holy Scriptures. Ezekiel is the 
angel standing in the sun, and if the reader will turn and 
read Ezeikiel 39-17 he can see him inviting the fowls to 
the great supper of this Winepress battV. 

It may be said that EzekieFs Gog was King of the North 
and that Rome is West. So that the Pope, whose capital is 



24 



BEASTS AND SEVENS OF REVELATIONS 



Rome, could not be Gog. It may be replied that any 
land army invading Palestine from -any part of Europe 
would naturally invade from the North, as it would be 
necessary to surround the Northeast end of the Mediter- 
ranean Sea. It may still be said that Gog was Chief Prince 
of Rosh, which is Russia. I remark (should the Pope 
regain his throne, as indicated before that he likely would, 
that is, should the Catholic church select the heir apparent 
to the Italian throne her Pope) that owing to the custom of 
intermarriage between the Sovereigns of Europe, it would 
be nothing out of the ordinary should the same man fall 
heir to both the Italian and the Russian thrones. But that 
is neither here nor there, as to how the beast becomes Chief 
Prince cf Rosh, Meshech and Tubal. We are assured that 
when the wound of the beast is healed, power will be given 
him over every nation, tongue and people. In its finality 
the territory of the Ancient Roman Empire will be divided 
into ten kingdoms. This is indicated by the ten horns on the 
dragon. These ten kingdoms will form a ground coalition. 
Perhaps the coalition will produce no wonder, that may be 
a necessity to enable the white races of Europe to withstand 
an onslaught from the yellow races of Asia. The wonder 
seems to be that the beast, or Pope, should be placed at the 
head of the coalition. The thing is of the Lord, but none 
know this except the true believers. John speaking of the 
ten Kings, says: 'Tor God did put in their hearts to do 
his mind, and to come to one mind, and to give their king- 
dom unto the beast until the words of God should be 
accomplished. " Rev. 17-17. It is virtually the resurrection 
of the old Roman empire with the Pope at the head. No 
wonder that the whole world which neither understand nor 
believe shall wonder and say: "Who is like unto the beast? 
Who is able to make war with him?" But the Pope will 
not only be at the head of this grand coalition of the ten 



THE SEVEN HEADED AND TEN HORNED BEAST 25 

kingdoms, but he will also have the worship and assistance 
of the two-horned beast of chapter 13. We will examine 
this beast later ; he is nearly or quite as strong as the entire 
coalition of which the Pope is head. With the assistance 
of the two-horned beast the Pope makes himself master 
of the whole earth. No wonder that his head is turned 
and that he should exalt himself above "all that is called 
God or that is worshipped. " 

We wish now to call attention to the killing of the wit- 
nesses by this beast, after he ascends from the abyss. And, 
when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast 
that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war 
against them and shall overcome them and kill them." Rev. 
11-7. This killing of the witnesses occurs after the beast 
ascends from the abyss, and three years and a half before 
the witnesses are raised from the dead, which is still in the 
future. Who are these witnesses? They had prophesied 
in sackcloth 1260 years, so they were at least that old. 
The Savior said in the first chapter that a candlestick w T as 
a church. These witnesses are called, "the two olive trees 
aud the two candlesticks." Isaiah calls those whom Christ 
deliver from sin "trees of righteousness the planting of 
Jehovah." Isa. 61-3. These olive trees and candlesticks 
then are the true churches and ministry. These witnesses 
are the Baptist churches of today, the true successors of 
those ancient churches that bore the cruel persecutions of 
the beast all down through the ages. And it is revealed 
that when they have finished their testimony, that they are 
to be killed by this same beast, when he ascends from the 
abyss. Nothing m the way of a church that arose at the 
Lutheran reformation, or since then, will suit for these wit- 
nesses, all such churches are at least 800 vears too young. 
Neither can they claim age through the Catholic church, 
for Christ denounces the very claim of that church to being 



26 



BEASTS AND SEVENS OF REVELATIONS 



believers "blasphemy". But as the prophetical history of 
the true churches will be treated when we take up the 
seven churches, Revelations chapters 2 and 3, and these 
witnesses are these churches ; we drop them here. 

As the last, and perhaps the most stupendous under- 
taking of the beast before the great battle of the Wine- 
press in which he, himself, is destroyed, is the destruction 
of the Catholic church; we will take that up. "And there 
came one of the seven angels that had the seven bowls and 
spoke with me saying, come hither; I will show thee the 
judgment of the great harlot that sitteth upon many 
waters: with whom the kings of the earth committed forni- 
cation, and they that dwell in the earth were made drunken 
with the wine of her fornication. And he carried me away 
in the spirit into a wilderness: and I saw a woman sitting 
upon a scarlet colored beast, full of names of blasphemy, 
having seven heads and ten horns. 1 ' Rev. 17—1, 2, 3. 

Will the reader, in his mind, now go with me to the city 
of Rome. There they point us out two palaces in each of 
which there is a king. The king in one of these palaces 
sits upon a throne and reigns over Italy. The king in the 
other palace sulkily whiles away his time greatly offended 
because he has lost his kingdom. We will call each of 
these kings a beast. The woman of which we read is riding 
the sulky beast, that beast is the Pope. John saw the 
woman riding the beast, but it was some 40 or 50 years 
later than this. Why do I say this? Because the existing 
state of affairs in Rome had gone on until the sixth one 
of the reigning line was on the throne, whereas the third 
one only is on the throne as yet. If the three have occupied 
the throne for 39 years the next three will likely do as well 
There will only be seven of this reigning line, and then the 
woman w T ill ride her sulky beast into power again. 

The woman is the city of Rome and as the Roman Catholic 



THE SEVEN HEADED AND TEN HORNED BEAST 27 



church is the reigning power of that city, incidentally she 
is also that church. Had John been speaking of Rome in 
his own day, it would have been different. Rome then was 
the capital of the Roman empire. A woman in Revelations 
symbolizes a capital city and can only incidentally symbolize 
a church. But John was brought down in the spirit, i\ 
the wilderness, to a time subsequent to this, as we have 
seen, and saw the woman. That the woman is Rome is 
made too plain to admit any other construction. John 
says: "Here is the mind that hath wisdom. The seven 
heads are seven mountains on which the woman sitteth." 
Rev. 17—9. 

Rome was built on seven hills. Again : "And the woman 
whom thou sawest is the great city, which reigneth over 
the Kings of the earth/ 7 This forever saddles it on Rome 
as the city of this prophesy, and it forever sets aside the 
arguments of Catholics, who in trying to break the force 
of the passage, point to Constantinople as the city of the 
prophecy. John puts it in the present tense "reigneth", 
and it doesn't matter what Constantinople or any other city 
might have done afterward, Rome "reigned over the Kings of 
the earth" in John's day. 

As a capital city Rome embraces the people over which 
she rules, or reigns. As the Catholic church, the world 
over, is ruled from Rome, the woman is said to "sit upon 
many waters." 

The very 'age in which John saw the woman points to 
the Catholic church, for that church is the reigning power 
in that city today. That church is ruled from Rome today, 
and I gather from this prophesy, will be until! she is no 
more. Italy belongs to the Catholic church, and it doesn't 
matter if, for the present, they prefer as king, some other 
Catholic to their Pope. When the time comes they will as 
readily transfer their allegiance back to the Pope. The 



28 



BEASTS AND SEVEXS OF REVELATIONS 



Catholic church being the reigning power in Rome when 
John saw the woman, every word of his description of her 
fits that church. "The woman was arrayed in purple and 
scarlet colour and decked with gold and precious stones and 
pearls." 

To those well informed about Catholics, it is needless 
to speak of the prominence of purple 'and scarlet among 
them; but to those unacquainted, I will say, that every 
cardinal of that church, to earth's remotest bound, receives 
his appointment directly from the Pope. "The reception 
of a red cap with red tassels, lined with red silk notifies 
each cardinal of his appointment. Some time within a 
year after the reception of the cap, he who received it re- 
pairs to Rome, where the Pope puts upon his finger a fine 
gold ring set with a fine stone. These Cardinals assist 
the Pope and counsel at Rome in ruling that church all 
over the earth. This women was a harlot. Christ has not 
married his church as yet, but as a young man leaves his 
betrothed bride and goes into another country to prepare 
a home, so Christ left his church and went away. The 
church 'as the betrothed of Christ, is commanded to look 
to him alone as her head and lawgiver. But the church 
at Rome admitted first Constantine the Roman emperor, 
as her head and lawgiver. She suffered him to make vari- 
ous changes in the laws of Christ, by which he aimed 
to govern his church. In the course of time as that church 
spread into other countries, she suffered other kings to 
legislate for her, or rather induced them to do so. In 
process of time the people began to look upon these laws as if 
they were of divine origin. In process of time the church 
had a king of her own, and he made laws. These laws 
constitute the wine of her fornication. The woman had a 
golden cup full of it in her hand. John speaks of her as 
a bartender making the inhabitants of the earth drunk 



THE SEVEN HEADED AND TEN HORNED BEAST 29 



with it. This is spiritual harlotry. The Catholic church 
is that kind of a harlot. And in this way the Kings of the 
earth committed fornication with her, but in so doing they 
usurped the place of Christ, and the day of reckoning comes 
on apace. This church so changed the government doc- 
trines and ordinances of Christ, until she has not the 
slightest semblance of a true church. 

Daniel speaking of the papal kingdom w r hich arose out of 
this church, and the king of which is her head and husband : 
"And he shall speak words against the Most High; and 
he shall think to change the times and the law: and they 
shall be given into his hand until a time and times and 
half a time/' Dan. 7 — 25. These times sumed up make the 
1260 years that John said the beast should continue. More 
•about her: "And upon her forehead was a name written, 
Mystery, Babylon The Great, The Mother Of Harlots And 
Abominations Of The Earth". Rev. 17 — 5. As Babylon 
of old destroyed and held natural Israel in captivity, so 
did the Catholic dhurch hold the true churches, and thus 
she became a type of that church. Paul said that : "The 
mystery of iniquity doth already work." In his day it 
worked in the Catholic church; it was consummated. 
Again: "And I saw the woman drunken with the blood 
of the Saints, and with the blood of the Martyrs of Jesus." 
Rev. 17 — 6. We have already shown that one-third of all the 
true Christians, by the Roman empire and the papal 
kingdom, have been slain. Some writers say that the 
Catholic church has already killed from 50 to 60 millions 
of Christians. I don't know about that, but I do know 
that God has revealed the fact that the two kingdoms 
mentitoned above has and will kill one-third of all of them. 
This blood must be avenged. But some think that it is 
not right to require all this blood of modern Catholics. 
Then why did God require all the righteous blood shed 



30 



BEASTS AND SEVENS OF REVELATIONS 



upon the earth, from that of Abel to that of Zechariah of 
the Jews? God is not in the habit of consulting with 
cavilers about taking vengeance ; and He has most certainly 
revealed the fact that He aims to avenge the blood of His 
people. By what means? By the Pope, who will then be 
King again, and by the ten kings which are under him. 
It may be asked, what created the rupture between the 
Pope and his church? It may not be possible to give the 
exact cause, but that there will be a breach is plainly 
revealed. In the first place, the kings of the coalition 
under him hate his church. So political reasons may have 
something to do with it. John says: "And the ten horns 
which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the 
whore." Again Paul in 2 Thes. 2 identifies the son of 
perdition, with thj anti-Christ. In so doing he identified 
him with this beast; for John says, the beast shall go into 
perdition. The papacy will eventuate in the anti-Christ, 
as such the Pope will exalt himself above everything that 
is called God or that is worshipped. Paul says: "So that 
he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself 
that he is God." 2 Thes. 2—4. 

John says of this beast : "And he opened his mouth in 
blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his 
tabernacle, and them that dwell in Heaven." Rev. 13 — 6. 
Daniel: "And the King shall do according to his will; and 
he shall exalt himself and magnify himself above every God, 
and shall speak marvelous things against the God of gods." 
Dan. 11 — 36. Now if this great beast, is to eventuate into 
the great anti-Christ of the last day, as he most certainly is, 
the reader can see in that a sufficient reason for a breach 
between the Pope and his church ; for as such he could not, 
apart from his own personal worship, endure anything in 
the name of religion, not even the Catholic religion. 

Hence the agreement to destroy her, "And the ten horns 



THE SEVEN HEADED AXD TEN HORNED BEAST 



31 



which thou sawest, and the beast, these shall hate the harlot 
and they shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat 
her flesh, and shall burn her utterly with fire. For God 
did put in their hearts to do his mind, and to come to one 
mind, and to give their kingdom unto the beast, until the 
words of God should be accomplished." Rev. 17 — 16-17. 
I believe in this quotation, God gives the reason for giving 
the Pope such power, i. e., that by him he might destroy 
that church. Such stupendous power! Such a tremendous 
task for that power! Will the reader think of it. That 
church claims a membership of 228,000,000. To be blotted 
out! 

It being then determined to utterly destroy her, what 
charges are brought against her? "For her sins have reached 
unto Heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities. 
Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her 
double according to her works: in the cup which she hath 
filled fill to her double. How much she hath glorified her- 
self, and lived deliriously so much torment and sorrow give 
her: for she saith in her heart I sit a queen, and am 
no widow, and shall see no sorrow/' Rev. IS — 5-7. Sins 
reached Heaven, glorified herself, lived deliriously, sits a 
queen, no widow. Will the reader pause a moment and 
think of this last charge? The Catholic church today is 
as a widow, her Pope and husband, as a king, is dead; but 
when his deadly wound is healed, with what boastful pride 
she'll say "I sit a queen, and am no widow." Not only her 
pride, but will the reader think of a church claiming to be 
the betrothed bride of King Jesus, saying that with direct 
reference to her own illicit connection with another king? 
More, "for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived." 
18 — 23. Guilty of sorceries, nations deceived thereby. 
Being deceived easily lead to believe the church cou^d 
change the laws of God into the idolatry of Mary worship; 



32 



BEASTS AND SEVENS OF REVELATIONS 



into believing the fraudulent story of purgatory ; of indulg- 
ence value in relics, and that it was right to kill the Saints, 
and give all their goods to the church, etc. Thereby she 
filled her coffers, "lived deliciously -and etc." 

"And in her was found the blood of prophets and of 
Saints, and of tall that were slain upon the earth." Rev. 
18 — 24. Blood found in her innocent blood — blood of 
prophets, blood of Saints, blood of all kinds. But says her 
apologist, that was the age in which she did this. What 
makes an age anyway? Is not any age the fruit of its teach- 
ing? Who did the teaching? Was it not the Catholic 
church? Had there been no such church there would have 
been no such age ; or had she remained true to the Scrip- 
tures, there would have been no such age ; or had she not 
kept the true church cut down with the knife of persecu- 
tion, that dhurch would have thrown so much light in the 
darkness, there would have been no such age. She is 
responsible for the darker ages. John makes the dark age 
from the twelfth to the sixteenth centry. Rev. 8 — 12. 
And all other ages when she did the teaching, and will be 
so held by the righteous God; and she will be held account- 
able for all her own murders, and for all other murders 
caused as an effect of her pernicious teaching. It being 
determined by the just God to destroy her, and the means 
by which, and the cause for which, pointed out. What will 
be the nature and extent of her destruction? This he 
also plainly gives. Will the reader stop -and read the 
seventeenth and eighteenth chapters of Revelations and see 
all? She drinks double the cup she gave to others, Where 
she killed she drinks it double ; where she appropriated the 
goods of her victims hers are appropriated by her destroyers. 
Daniel says of the great beast that destroys her: "He 
shall enter peaceably even upon the fattest places of the 
province, and He shall do that which his fathers have not 



THE SEVEN HEADED AND TEN HORNED BEAST 33 



clone nor his father's fathers: He shall scatter among them 
the prey, and spoil, and riches : yea, and He shall forecast his 
devices against the strongholds, even for a time." Dan. 
11-24 and verse 39. "And shall divide the land for gain." 

What an immense amount of booty here to divide — 
church property, individual property — land to divide. What 
is the extent of her destruction? Utter, so much so, that 
there will be heard in her no more the voice of the bride- 
groom or bride or instrument of music, nor seen in her the 
light of lamp, or followed in her any trade whatsoever. 

But God, who is ever merciful, even while his hand is 
lifted up to strike the blow, would save His people from 
her calamity. John says: "And I heard another voice 
from Heaven saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye 
be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her 
plagues/' Rev. 18 — 4. 



34 



BEASTS AND SEVENS OF REVELATIONS 



Chapter 4. 
THE TWO-HORNED BEAST. 
As the two-horned beast is to perform a very important 
part on the program of the last days, and in connection with 
the beast we have been considering, I will take him up here. 
He is the wonderworking false prophet, which together 
with the first beast, is to be cast into the lake of fire at 
the coming of Christ. The description of the beast, taken 
together with his work, point him out so plainly that we 
will not be bothered to know T who he is. Some say he is 
the same as the first beast, bringing out features not 
brought by that beast. Such a theory as that at once sets 
John aside as his own interpreter. He says: "I saw an- 
other beast/' We will lexamine the beast. I take the posi- 
tion that he is the United States of America, and ask the 
reader to follow carefully the examination. "And I beheld 
another beast coming up out of the earth ; and he had two 
horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon." Rev. 13 — 11. 
All beasts in symbolical language represent kings or gov- 
ernments. This beast is a government. We have in this 
chapter two beasts, the first arose out of the sea, this one 
out of the earth. Both sea and earth symbolize people. 
Governments can arise from no other substance. John ex- 
plains that the waters where the harlot sitteth are people; 
multitudes, nations and tongues; from these peoples 
or sea, the first beast or papal kingdom arose. But this beast 
arose from the earth. The earth is a symbol of Protestant- 
ism. As the earth stands out above the sea, so Protestant- 
ism stands out above Catholicism. The early colonists of 
this country were: Protestants fleeing from the religious 
persecution in Europe. They settled in this country and 
from these colonists the government arose. The work of 
this beast will show the class of people of which it is com- 
posed. "By their fruits shall ye know them." This beast 



THE TWO HORNED BEAST 



35 



had two horns. Horns when used on a beast point to one 
of two things, they point either to the number of king- 
doms or governments united in the government symbolized, 
or to the number of parts into which it will be divided. The 
Media-Persian Kingdom was formed by the union of the 
Kingdoms of Media and Persia. Daniel saw it under the 
symbol of a ram with two horns. We have an exact paral- 
lel in this two-horned beast. There will be no division, 
at least permanent, in the government symbolized by the 
two-horned beast, for we find it fighting under one leader 
at the last great battle of the Winepress. Is there any- 
thing then in the formation of the United States that could 
be indicated by the two horns? There certainly is. Texas 
had, in war with Mexico, gained her independence and had 
set up a republic of her own. Her independenc was ack- 
nowledged by the United States, Belgium and France. By 
the mutual consent of both Texas and the United States, 
Texas became a state in the Union ; thus the two republics 
became one nation. The two horns doubtless point to the 
two republics. This beast points to a republic. Crowns 
point to kingdoms; there were crowns on the dragon's 
heads, these point to the Caesars, but afterward when the 
empire was divided, the crowns were transferred to the 
horns. See first beast. John says the ten horns are ten 
kings, but as there are no crowns on this beast neither on 
the head nor horns, he must point to a republic. This 
beast spake as a dragon. As has been shown already in 
this work, the great red dragon of chapter twelve, was a 
symbol of the Roman empire. He was a symbol of it after 
its divisions, this is indicated by the ten horns, which pointed 
to the divisions, being on the dragon. But 'another and 
conclusive proof of this is the civil power of the territory 
of that ancient empire is called "the dragon",, down at the 
Tery close of this age. Rev. 16 — 13. This being the case 



36 



BEASTS AND SEVENS OF REVELATIONS 



it is perfectly Scriptural to call any or all of the nations, 
occuping that territory, dragon nations. The two-horned 
beast is not one of those nations, but he speaks like one. 
"He spake as a dragon." The United States having been 
settled by emigrants from the dragon nations could but 
speak the mother tongue. Having examined one verse, we 
will now take up the next : "And he exerciseth all the au- 
thority of the first beast in his sight." This language must 
imply that the two-horned beast is about as strong as the 
ten-horned beast, or that he is so leagued with that beasc 
that all the power of that beast is at his disposal. In 
either case it shows the two-horned beast to be a strong 
nation. If the United iStates is not as strong as all the 
nations of the ancient Roman empire in union, it would 
be hard to point to a nation that is. And when I show, 
which I will now proceed to do, that the tw r o-horned beast 
symbolizes a Protestant nation, it will settle it on the United 
States as that nation: "And causeth the earth and them 
which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly 
wound was healed." 

The Protestant denominations, from which this two- 
horned beast arose, originally belonged to the Catholic 
church and while, in leaving that church, they left off many 
of the grosser unscriptural doctrines of that church, there 
is still in all of them, a residuum of Catholic doctrines, of 
greater or less density. The leaders of all Protestants, at the 
start, were baptised, ordained and educated in the Catholic 
church. Little wonder much that is essentially Catholic 
still adheres to them. Daniel says of the first beast or the 
ten-horned beast which is the papal kingdom: "And he 
shall speak words against the Most High, -and shall wear out 
the Saints of the Most High ; and he shall think to change 
the times and the law; and they shall be given into his 
hand until a time and times and half a time." Dan. 7 — 25. 



THE TWO HORNED BEAST 



37 



For 1260 years the papal kingdom made free with the laws 
of God to change them as interest or fancy dictated. The 
Protestant world makes the crime of these changes their 
own. by teaching the world to observe them. While the 
Catholic fearlessly tampers with the law of God, the Prot- 
estant recklessly perpetuates his changes. And thus the 
two-horned beast ^causes the earth and them that dwell 
therein to worship the first beast." 

Paul says: "Know ye not, that to whom ye yield your- 
selves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey/' 
Rom. 6 — 16. So long as Protestants lend themselves to 
teach Catholic doctrines, they are servants of the first beast, 
"causing the earth and them that dw^ell therein" to wor- 
ship him; for he is the pastor and head of the Catholic 
church and these are his doctrines. If any heathen nation 
suited the description of the beast in any point they would 
fail here ; for no heathen nation teaches any Catholic doc- 
trines. Catholics teach many things that they received 
from the heathens, but heathens nothing received from 
Catholics. Therefore no heathen nation can be the two- 
horned beast.. But as the United States meets this point- 
in the description of that beast, as well as all others, and 
as there is no other nation on the earth that does, I am 
foound to conclude that the United 'States is that beast. 
The work attributed to this beast is not all fulfilled as yet, 
but the United States is as liable to do that work as any 
other nation. "And he doth great wonders, so that he 
maketh fire come down from Heaven on the earth in the 
sight of men." The United States meets this part in the 
description as well as all others. Benjamin Franklin, the 
first, and so far as I know, the only man on record that 
ever drew fire from Heaven, was a citizen of the United 
States. But I have thought that this was only prophetical 
of what will be done; that as they are now sending messages 



33 



BEASTS AND SEVENS OF REVELATIONS 



without a wire, they will soon be able to make a fire 
without any visible apparatus whatever ; have the appa- 
ratus in one place and make a fire in another. If they 
should do this and keep the secret from the people, what 
a splendid means to deceive them. And we learn from 
Paul that the miracles performed are "lying wonders." 
"And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth, by the means 
of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight 
of the beast ; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that 
they should make an image to the beast, which had the 
wound by a sword, and did live. And he bad power to give 
life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast 
should both speak and cause that as many as would not 
worship the image of the beast should be killed." In order 
to understand this passage the reader must remember that 
the first beast, which is the Pope, has regained the throne 
at this time which has healed his wound; that he is the 
great anti-Christ of the last days, and as such he demands 
of the whole world that they worship him. Being only 
a man and it not possible that he should be everywhere, the 
two-horned beast, which is another government from that 
of the beast in lieu of the Pope's presence in his territory, 
has the people to make an image to the beast that is healed, 
and he on his part gives life to the image. The image is 
worshipped in lieu of the beast. The average reader has 
doubtless read of the great efforts now being made in 
this country to produce artifical life. It seems that these 
efforts will be crowned with such success that they will be 
able to give life to this image of the Pope ; so much so that 
the image can both speak and cause that as many as would 
not worship it, should be killed. It doesn't say that the 
image killed any one, but caused that they should be killed. 
Perhaps it will call on the victims of this delusion to kill 
the non-worshipers. Our Savior says: "For there shall 



THE TWO HORNED BEAST 



39 



arise false Christs and false prophets, and shall show great 
signs and wonders; so as to lead astray, if possible, even 
the elect." Matt. 24 — 24. This is doubtless one of the 
great wonders referred to by the Savior as it is produced 
by the false prophet in honor of the anti-Christ. 

"And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, 
free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or 
in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, 
save he that had the mark or the name of the beast, or 
the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him that 
hath understanding count the number of the beast, for 
it is the number of a man: and his number is six hundred 
three score and six." 

This mark, like the image, is gotten up by the two- 
horned beast in honor of the seven-headed and ten-horned 
beast, It indicates that the wearer worships the last 
mentioned beast. The new version has it : "Save he that 
hath the mark, even the name of the beast or the number 
of his name." i. e. the wearer must have in his hand, the 
name of the beast or the number of his name. The King 
James has it, the name, or number, or mark. There has 
been no little speculation about this mark and I may not 
be able to set it all at rest, but by sticking close to John 
as his own interpreter, I hope in a great measure to quiet 
it. The main thing in this mark is the name of the beast, 
the number is the number of his name. We can give the 
name and the number is 666. Before giving the name I 
will make this statement : If the reader has read this work 
from the start he understands that I make the Pope the 
beast in whose honor this mark is given, but since 1870 he 
has had no kingdom, and the mark will not be given until 
after he regains the throne. Not this only, but if the time 
is counted on the Pope while he is off the throne there 
will probably be but one more Pope on the throne, and he 



40 



BEASTS AND SEVENS OF REVELATIONS 



will be the great anti-Christ . If , however, the time is not 
Counted, and it seems to me from all the circumstances 
that it is not, there will yet for 144 years reign one of the 
most desperate lines of madmen on the papal throne the 
world has ever seen; eventuating in the anti-Christ. It 
was after the wound of the beast was healed that he did 
his main and mighty works, It was after the wound was 
healed the mark was given; hence it has not been given 
yet. John nowhere in talking about the beast gives his 
name, but in talking about the angel of the abyss he does. 
The angel of the abyss and the beast of the abyss are one 
and the same, for the angel is the beast, i. e. the pastor of 
the Roman Catholic church is the King of that church. 
The abyss is that church as shown before. Now to give 
the name of the angel, is to give the name of the beast. We 
will give a quotation where John speaks of each: "The 
beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and is about to 
come up out of the abyss, and to go into perdition. And 
they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, they whose name 
hath not been written in the book of life from the founda- 
tion of the world, when they behold the beast, how that he 
was, and is not and shall come." Rev. 17 — 8. This beast 
of the abyss is explained further on to be a King. "They 
have over them as King the angel of the abyss: his name 
in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in the Greek tongue he hath 
the name Apollyon." Rev. 9 — 11. There the name is given 
in two languages. Smith says (Bible Dictionary) that the 
Hebrew term, "is really abstract and signifies destruction/' 
The Greek term in A. B. margin, is translated "destroyer." 
By John's giving the name in two languages, he may intend 
to imply that each nation will have the name in its own 
language. There is evidently some mystery about the num- 
ber of his name although the number as given is 666; 
for it requires one with understanding to count it. However 



THE TWO HORNED BEAST 



41 



the name is given in two languages. If "destroyer" is the 
correct name how apt, how appropriate, since none has ever 
arisen with the will or ability to destroy like him. That 
destroyer is an apt name of the beast John says: "And 
shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth." Rev. 
11 — 18. We learn in Revelations 19 that Christ destroys 
this beast at his coming. Abaddon, Apollyon, or Destroyer 
is the name then, owing to the language in which it is 
given. This name is to be in the right hand or forehead 
of all and no one can buy or sell without it. "And he 
causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and 
bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their 
foreheads." 

John says of the first beast: "And power was given him 
over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. And all that 
dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are 
not written in the book of life of the lamb slain from the 
foundation of the world." Rev. 13 — 7, 8. The great incon- 
venience of those who try to live without taking this mark 
can never be known, but by him who tries it. No doubt 
the viola ters of the law will be amply punished. This mark 
will be gotten up <and enforced by the two-horned beast, 
so we may know where the thing will originate. But it 
will never do for believers to receive this mark number 
or name. "And the third angel followed them, saying 
with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his 
image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, 
the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which 
is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indig- 
nation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone 
in the presence of the holy angels. And the smoke of their 
torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have 
no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, 
and whosoever reoeiveth the mark of his name." Rev. 14 — 



42 



BEASTS AND SEVENS OF REVELATIONS 



9, 11. Before leaving the two-horned beast I make one 
more point which is this: In the seventh chapter of 
Daniel the successive kingdoms of Babylon, Medo-Persia, 
Greece and Rome are symbolized by as many beasts. Some 
commentators, take the last the Roman which was rep- 
resented by a great beast with ten horns, and try to find the 
ten horns in Western Europe, saying that the Eastern por- 
tion of the Roman empire had been in the kingdoms repre- 
sented by the other beasts, and hence could not be also rep- 
resented in the body of the Roman beast ; they therefore 
look in the West for all ten of the kingdoms indicated by 
the ten horns. Now that is altogether gratuitous and en- 
tirely without Scriptural example. The beast that symbo- 
lized the Grecian Kingdom had four heads; these heads 
showed that the Kingdom was to be divided into four 
kingdoms. Now the tyro in history knows that the Medo- 
Persian Kingdom was included in the Grecian Kingdom and 
divided with the rest. Now as these are the facts in the 
case, why not divide the entire Roman empire, into the ten 
parts and not the Western part only. When the Romans 
had conquered the Greeks and incorporated them into the 
empire they were as much a portion of the Roman beast as 
any, and the whole empire must be divided. John also 
symbolized the Roman empire by the ten-horned dragon, 
and these arguments apply here. It is the entire Roman 
empire that is to be divided into ten parts. There w^as a 
time doubtless at the dismemberment of the empire, when 
it consisted in ten kingdoms. This was about the time of 
the rise of the papal kingdom. But John has it in ten 
kingdoms again, at the coming of Christ. But says one 
there are ten kingdoms or governments in the Western 
half. What of that? Did God's word ever fail? How long- 
would it take in w r ar to change the entire territory into the 
required ten kingdoms? We find in the thirteenth chap- 



THE TWO HORNED BEAST 



43 



ter that the dragon gave the beast power after his wound 
was healed, that is yet future, and we find in the seventeenth 
chapter after the Pope regains his kingdom, ten kings agree 
and give him their kingdoms. Both passages doubtless 
point to the same transaction. The dragon gave ten horns, 
the beast receives ten horns. The ten horns point to the 
ten kingdoms into which the dragon kingdom was divided. 
No ten kingdoms have ever come to one mind and given 
their power to the beast, nor the kings of ten kingdoms. 
There has never been a time when the Pope controlled the 
entire territory of the ancient Roman empire. But the 
empire will yet be divided, and the Pope head the ten divis- 
ions. That the division is yet future, as shown before, 
John saw the beast when the sixth king of the present line 
of Italian kings was reigning; and the ten kings had re- 
ceived no kingdom then. Not only this, but he was shown 
that when they did receive their kingdoms, they would hold 
them until the coming of Christ, and engage him in battle. 
He says: "These shall make war with the lamb, and the 
lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of Lords, and 
King of Kings : and they that are with him are called, and 
chosen, and faithful." Rev. 17 — 14. Now there are but ten 
horns on the dragon, that indicates that the Roman empire 
will be divided into but ten kingdoms. And these ten 
kings mutually agree and give their power and strength to 
the beast, or Pope. But let the reader remember that these 
ten kings are still the dragon or -the dragon kings, and are so 
recognized down till the very last. We read: "And I saw 
three unclean spiris like frogs come out of the mouth of 
the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out 
of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are the spirits 
of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings 
of the earth and of the whole world to gather them to the 
battle of that great day of God Almighty." Rev. 16—13, 14. 



44 



BEASTS AND SEVENS OF REVELATIONS 



The dragon is recognized here as one of he powers which 
gather the kings of "the whole world" to the last great 
battle of the "Winepress". He is doubtless represented 
here by the ten kings which are at the head of the ten 
kingdoms into which the Roman empire is now divided. 

The reader may ask now, w T hat has all this to do with the 
two-horned beast? It is this: If the entire territory of the 
ancient Roman empire is, in the last days, to be divided 
into ten parts and these given to the beast or Pope, in searcn - 
ing for the tw^o-horned beast, which is "another beast." we 
will have to leave out all that territory. Not only this, 
but John identifies the beast with EzekieFs Gog of Eze. 
chapter 39 by saying that he saw an angel in the sun 
inviting the birds to the supper of the Great God. The 
sun is a symbol of the Hold Scriptures, and Ezekiel is the 
ordy one in the Scriptures that invites the birds. Now this 
Gog was Chief Prince of Russia, so that leaves Russia also 
to the first beast, and also Germany in the same way. Then 
we are knocked out of Europe, North Africa and Western 
Asia, in searching for the two-horned beast. And as we 
have already seen, no heathen nation could be that beast, 
and the United States suiting in every particular the descrip- 
tion of the beast makes it almost absolutely certain that 
the United States is that beast. But some one may say that 
though the United States may suit in every other particular, 
that it is no false prophet. Suppose at the proper time, 
the prophet of the Mormon church, the successor of Joseph 
Smith, should be eL cted President, then what would the 
objector say? And I am loth to admit that the tendency 
is in that direction. But let that be as it may there are 
plenty of men in any demonination that wxmld be guilty of 
any deception, to gain popularity with such a great pow T er 
as the first beast's power will be in Europe. 



THE RESURRECTION OF THE RIGHTEOUS DEAD. 45 

Chapter 5. 

THE RESURRECTION OF THE RIGHTEOUS DEAD. 

As the resurrection of the righteous dead takes place 
during the reign of these beasts we have been considering, 
and in the estimation of the believer, is the most important 
part of the program, we will now take it up. John treats 
the question in the fourteenth chapter of Revelations. He 
treats it under the symbol of the Jewish harvest. If the 
reader is acquainted with that he will understand it at 
once. The Jew at harvest was commanded first, to take 
a sheaf of the grain to the priest, that he might w r ave it 
as an offering before the Lord, and he could not, under law, 
eat aught of the grain until this was done. After the offer- 
ing of the wave sheaf or the first fruit, for this was the first 
fruit, the Jew counted seven weeks and on the fiftieth day 
the great feast of harvest began. The seven weeks were 
allowed to gather the harvest in. Now the wave sheaf points 
to Christ, as the first fruit from the dead; but John uses 
it also in the resurrection of the righteous dead to point 
out a part of them. John in this fourteenth chapter speaks 
exclusively of the resurrection of the righteous dead; but 
he gives that in the order in which it will occur, and he also 
gives the political situation in connection with it. First 
then is the first fruit : "And I looked, and lo, a lamb stood 
on the Mount Zion, and with him am hundred forty and 
four thousand, having his Father's name written in their 
foreheads. And I heard a voice from Heaven, as the voice 
of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I 
heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps: and 
they sung, as it were, a new song before the throne, and 
before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could 
learn the song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, 
which were redeemed from the earth. These are they 



46 



BEASTS AND SEVENS OF REVELATIONS 



which follow the lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were 
redeemed from among men, being the first fruits unto God 
and to the lamb. And in their mouth was found no guile: 
for they are without fault before the throne of God. 7 ' These 
virgins are doubtless the true churches. The true churches 
?.re often referred to in the epistles as virgins. The women 
with which they refused to be defiled are the capital cities 
of the earth that have tried to legislate for true churches 
and to control them by human laws. But these virgins 
refused to be defiled by them and would follow none but 
Christ. As a reward for their faithfulness, they are the 
first fruit from the dead, and can sing a song that no man 
?tm learn but themselves. I understand that part of the 
martyrs will be in the 144,000 that is, all the martyrs that 
are killed before they are raised, there will be some killed 
after these are raised. "And -when he had opened ihe fifth 
seal I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain 
for the word of God, and for the testimony which they 
held. And they cried with a loud voice, saying,How long, 
Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our 
blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes 
were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto 
them, that they should rest yet for a little season until their 
fellow servants also and their brethren, that should be 
killed as they w 7 ere, should be fulfilled." Rev. 6 — 9, 11. 
These martyrs were doubtless raised from the dead, for 
the giving them the white robes implies as much, but there 
were others to be killed after this, and they were to wait till 
after that, for God's vengeance. There were forty-nine 
days allowed after the first fruit to bring in the full harvest. 
If this is typical, and likely it is, there will be fifty years 
after the 144,000 are raised before the rest of the righteous 
dead are raised and the great harvest feast celebrated. But 
the order we will follow as John gives it, After the 144,000 



THE RESURRECTION OF THE RIGHTEOUS DEAD. 47 



are raised there is great activity in preaching the gospel, 
and the angel that leads seems to understand that the hour 
of judgment has come. The second thing is the destruction 
of the Catholic church or Babylon — as we have already 
described it we only mention it to show the order in which 
it comes. The third thing is great preaching, to try to 
keep the people from receiving the mark of the beast. I 
will now quote in full what is said next: "And I heard a 
voice from Heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the 
dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith 
the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors: for their 
works follow with them." I wish the reader to notice the 
connection in which this is written. The first fruits have 
already been raised and the very next verse begins to tell 
of the resurrection of the rest of the righteous dead. It 
doubtless has reference to those who die in the Lord, in the 
next age ie e. the Millennial age. Graves thinks (see Seven 
Disps.) that those brought to Christ in that age w T ill be 
exempt from natural death. But the Scriptures teach that 
death is the last enemy to be destroyed. Death will have 
dominion over the righteous as well as the unrighteous dur- 
ing that age. Not over those, of course, who have already 
died and have been raised, but over the nations over which 
Christ and his people are reigning. The Millennial age 
is the rest "that remains to the people of God." Let the 
reader examine the fourth chapter of Hebrews. Now as 
that rest will be going on in that age, when one dies in 
that age in the Lord he will not have to wait as we do in 
this age, 'and as God's people have had to in all previous 
ages, but he will be raised and enter into his rest at once 
and his works follow with him. There will be no grave for 
the righteous in the next age, but the death bed will still 
remain. 

All should understand that death will still have domin- 



48 



BEASTS AND SEVENS OF REVELATIONS 



ion over the nations and over the believer as the unbeliever 
that are still in the flesh; for flesh and blood cannot inherit 
the Kingdom of God, neither doth corruption inherit incor- 
ruption. But to be raised at once is a great blessing indeed. 
But the wicked will still go to the grave in the next age as 
in this. We now come to the resurrection of the rest of 
the righteous dead. John still speaks of it as the Jewish 
harvest. 

"And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the 
cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having 
on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a 
sharp sickle. And another angel came out of the 
temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the 
cloud, Thrust in thy sickle and reap: for the time is come 
for thee to reap ; for the harvest of the earth is ripe. And 
he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth 
and the earth was reaped." This glorious sight will be seen 
by all the inhabiters of the earth. "Behold, he cometh 
with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also 
which pierced him : and all kindreds of the earth shall wail 
because of him. Even so, Amen." Rev. 1 — 7. This is 
our Savior on the cloud and not only the whole earth will 
see him, but his murderers from hell will see him. He will 
raise the rest of the righteous dead and translate the living 
Saints and they will be caught up to meet Him in the air. 
But the wailing of the nations that are left will be awful, 
indeed. The great beasts, and the kings of the earth, as 
soon as they recover themselves from the great excitement 
of seeing Christ on the white cloud when he comes for the 
resurrection and translation of his Saints, gather the armies 
of the whole world to war with Christ at His return: for 
they know, according to the Scriptures, that He will soon 
return to take possession of all the nations of the earth. 
Christ has heireci the earth from God the Father, and they 



THE RESURRECTION OF THE RIGHTEOUS DEAD. 



49 



realize that the time has come for him to take possession. 
But they are loth to give them up, and hence the great 
battle of the Winepress. Along with the other armies the 
vine of the earth is gathered and thrown into the wine- 
press. The vine of the earth is doubtless the vine of 
Protestantism. But as God, before he destroys the Catholic 
church, invites his people out of it, so before this vine is 
destroyed in the winepress he resurrects the righteous dead 
and translates the living Saints, and doubtless saves His 
people out of it. But Christ has spoken and who can 
disannul it? "Every plant that my father hath not planted 
shall be plucked up by the roots." We will now give the 
rest of John's graphic description. "And another angel 
came out of the temple which is in Heaven, he also having 
a sharp sickle. And another came out from the altar, 
which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to 
Him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp 
sickle, .and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; 
for her grapes are fully ripe. And the angel thrust in his 
sickle into the earth and gathered the vine of the earth, ana 
cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. And 
the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came 
out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the 
space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs." Until I 
understood this fourteenth chapter of Revelations there was 
an expression in the law of Moses that seemed to me some- 
what out of place. But now seeing the antitype of the 
Jewish harvest in the harvest of the earth by Christ, and in 
connection therewith the destruction of the Catholic church, 
and the vine of Protestantism, it seems exactly in place. 
Moses said: "The first of the first fruits of thy ground thou 
shalt bring into the house of Jehovah thy God. Thou shalt 
not boil a kid in its mother's milk." Ex. 23—19 and 34—26. 
The Catholic church is the mother goat and Protestants 



50 



BEASTS AND SEVENS OF REVELATIONS 



are the kids. The mother goat is destroyed by the beast 
and ten kings, the kids are gathered and thrown into the 
winepress, so he does not "boil the kid in the mother's 
milk.' 7 



THE BINDING OF SATAN 



51 



Chapter 6. 

THE BINDING OF SATAN. 

After the great battle of the Winepress, as recorded in the 
nineteenth chapter Revelations, and Christ has showed him- 
self indeed the "Lord of lords, and King of kings/' the first 
thing on record in the twentieth chapter is the binding 
of Satan. The reader can see at once the wisdom of this; 
for the nations are still to exist on earth as today, and if 
there is not something done to prevent it, Satan will deceive 
them into all kinds of wickedness as in this. I wish to 
remind the reader again that Satan existed long before the 
Roman empire existed, and will live when the last vestige 
of it has disappeared, and there are things said of him that 
has no reference to that empire, though he was used as 
a symbol of it, and the territory covered by it from the first 
to the second coming of Christ. But this binding of Satan 
is after the second coming and has no reference to the empire 
whatever. 

Before quoting the Scripture that shows his binding, in 
way of preamble I will quote other Scriptures that will show 
us something of the age in which he is bound. If the 
reader will now turn to the fourth chapter of Revelations, 
he will find that after John saw things from the Isle of 
Patmos he was carried to a new view-point, from which he 
saw other things. That is, he was carried into Heaven and 
there among* other things he saw four beasts. Beasts are 
always used as symbols of kingdoms or governments. These 
beasts are symbols of something in the age to come and 
seem to indicate that when Christ takes charge of the earth 
to govern it, that for convenience he will divide it into four 
great kingdoms or provinces. These beasts say of them- 
selves, "And they sung a new song, saying. Thou art worthy 
to take the book, and to open the seals thereof; for thou 



52 



BEASTS AND SEVENS OF REVELATIONS 



wast slain and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood and 
of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; and 
hast made us unto our God Kings and priests; and we shall 
reign on the earth." Rev. 5 — 9, 10. John says of these 
beasts, they were "full of eyes before and behind." What a 
glorious age when the kingdoms can see before and behind ; 
and why not? When Christ and all the prophets are here, 
why not know all about the future? When the Saints of 
all ages and climes are here why not know all about the 
past? What a splendid time to correct all our histories of 
all ages. And why not correct them? Since the nations 
must be taught, why not give them the facts about all 
things? I verily believe this is what is meant by the 
beasts being full of eyes behind. We have no means of 
viewing the past except through history. And I am now 
ready to say that I believe that the chain with which Satan 
is chained, is a chain of history; and if I am correct the sub- 
ject of the history is given. That is, the Catholic church 
the master piece of Satan's workmanship. We will now 
give the account of his being bound. "And I saw an angel 
come down from Heaven, having the key to the bottomless 
pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the 
dragon, that old serpent which is the devil and Satan, and 
bound him a thousand years, and cast him into the bot- 
tomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that 
he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand 
years should be fulfilled : and after that he must be loosed a 
little season." Rev. 20 — 1, 3. We have already shown that 
the "bottomless pit" or the abyss is a symbol of the Roman 
Catholic church. At the time, however, when Satan is 
bound that church has been blotted off of the face of the 
earth. But the angel that binds Satan has the key of the 
abyss, that is, he fully and thoroughly understands Catho- 
licism and the work of Satan in building that church. He 



THE BINDING OF SATAN 



53 



also knows God's judgment and destruction of that church ; 
and with all these facts he prepares a chain, or history, with 
which he completely binds Satan and confines him in his 
church building, to the Catholic church of this age. He shuts 
'him up in the Catholic church of this age, and puts such 
a seal upon him that he renders it impossible for him to 
deceive nations into another false church for the thous- 
and years. It is not intimated that there is any danger 
that Satan should deceive the resurrected Saints, but the 
nations. Satan is bound in the interest of the nations. Then 
why not make such a history one of the school books of that 
age? 

The kingdoms of that age are "full of eyes before and 
behind." At the close of that age Satan is loosed out of 
his prison, the history is suffered to go out of print, Satan's 
work is forgotten, and he is turned loose to deceive the 
nations again. If this is not the solution, of the passage 
I fail to understand why reference is made to the key. 

I wish to say this in regard to the angels that showed 
John some of the things recorded in Revelations. It was 
one of the angels that poured out one of the seven last 
plagues that showed John the destruction of the Catholic 
church, (Rev. 17-1) and another one of them that showed 
him the New Jerusalem coming down from God out of 
Heaven, (Rev. 21-9). One of. these angels told John that 
he was one of his fellow servants "and of his brethren that 
have the testimony of Jesus." Rev. 19 — 10. Another told 
him that he was his "fellow servant and of his brethren the 
prophets." So we see that Christ will at least use our 
brethren and fellow servants, that have gone on before, to 
bring on the last plagues in this age. Xo wonder that he 
should use one of them to bind Satan at the beginning of 
the age to come. And the fact that one is appointed to this 
task that has the key of the abyss, or the Catholic church. 



54 



BEASTS AND SEVENS OF REVELATIONS 



says plainly to my mind that that church is the master- 
piece of Satan's work in this the age of his anger; for 
when cast down to this earth from Heaven he came in great 
wrath knowing that he hath but "a short time.'' 

Need I say that the angel that showed John the Xew 
Jerusalem carried him "away in the spirit to a great and 
high mountain" to show^ it to him? And is Daniel's little 
stone that was to become a great mountain and fill the whole 
earth, that mountain? And will it be possible for the 
resurrected Saint during all that thousand years to cast his 
eyes toward Heaven and see the New Jerusalem, his eternal 
home, descending to the earth ? The passage seems to teach 
it. The New Jerusalem is a physical structure made of 
gold, fine stones and pearls, and will, it seems, be governed 
by physical laws in transit from Heaven to the earth. There 
will be no need of hurry any way as Christ will reign a 
thousand years, and if this is symbolical time and it is 
almost certain that it is, it will be three hundred and sixty- 
five thousand years. When that age is over the earth and 
all the works therein will be burned up. But the new city 
by this time will have arrived from Heaven and will settle 
down in its place, in the new earth, which the Lord our God 
shp.ll make, and will be our everlasting home. 



THE BINDING OF SATAN 



55 



Chapter 7. 

THE SEVEN CHURCHES. 

The seven churches spoken of in the letters recorded 
in the second and third chapters of Revelations, are sym- 
bolical or representative churches. This corresponds with 
the rest of the symbolical book and agrees with what is said 
in the first chapter. There it is said "The Revelation of 
Jesus Christ which God gave unto Him, to show unto his 
servants things which must shortly come to pass." Not 
the existing conditions in the churches, but things to come 
to pass. Then if these churches are symbolical churches 
each one would represent all the true churches in the age 
for which it stood. Then if the time from the time when 
Christ first set up his church until he comes again was 
divided into seven periods, each of the seven churches 
would represent all the true churches in one of the periods. 
Now if this theory is correct the true churches have existed 
in all ages since Christ went away. Not this only, but if 
reference to the enemies of the true churches in the letters, 
is of a nature to enable us to be certain as to who they are, 
we can tell as to the correctness of the theory. Does the 
internal evidence in these letters show the churches to be 
symbolical? It most certainly does. The reader will un- 
derstand that if this theory is correct the churches have 
existed all along down the ages in the territory of the old 
Roman empire, and as the dragon was the symbol of that 
empire he would expect to see him mentioned in the letters, 
and so it is. He w^ould ; expect likely that the work of the 
dragon would be mentioned in such a way that we could 
tell when it occurred, and so it is. He would expect very 
likely that the Catholic church would be spoken of in such 
a way that there w^ould be no mistaking as to wno was 
meant, and so it is. He would look also for the Lutheran 



56 



BEASTS AND SEVENS OF REVELATIONS 



reformation and he would not be disappointed; and for the 
settlement of this country, and he would find that, too. 
The reader also would expect to find these things along in 
She letters as they occurred. He would not look in the first 
:etters for the Lutheran reformation, nor in the last letters 
for the establishment of the Catholic church ; and he would 
find these things just as they occurred, so much so that I 
consider the symbolical theory the only tenable one. So 
in perfect accord with this theory the first letter, the letter 
to the church at Ephesus, shows no organization of the 
false professors, while the last letter shows the falling away 
at the revelation of the anti-Christ. We find also in the 
first letter the trial by the church of false apostles, but 
as these false apostles, as shown in the second letter, were 
organized to themselves and the false churches had a place 
for false apostles and their successors, we find no further 
mention of them in the other letters. 

The church at Ephesus would symbolize the true 
churches for about the first three centuries. The churches 
at or near the close of that period had left their first love 
and were admonished to repent and do the first works i. e., 
the works the churches had done in the first part of the 
period. The promises made in all these letters to the over- 
comers prove that all parts of Revelations are connected 
and must be interpreted together. The tree of life of which 
the overcomers are promised that they should eat, are 
described in the last of the whole book. 

Each of the letters to the seven churches closes in this 
language: "Be that hath an ear let him hear what the 
Spirit saith unto the churches." If the symbolical theory is 
correct, how appropriate, not to the. angel alone of the 
church addressed, but to all the angels of all the churches 
in all the ages represented by the letter. If all the angels 
could hear, i. e., if all the messengers or pastors that one: 



THE SEVEN CHURCHES 



57 



of these letters is intended for him personally, as much so 
as if his name were given, and could realize that it came 
directly from Christ to him, what then? And yet it's true. 

The second letter, the letter to the church at Smyrna, 
symbolizes the true churches from about the third to the 
sixth century. This letter is the first to show the organi- 
zation of false professors, and it points out that organization 
so plainly that there is no mistaking it. It also points as 
plainly to the true church. We will quote the first two 
verses of this letter : "And unto the angel of the church 
in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, 
which was dead, and is alive. I know thy works and tribu- 
lation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the 
blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, 
but are the Synagogue of Satan." Rev. 2 — 8, 9. Here the 
church in tribulation and poverty is the true church and 
Christ pronounces her rich. But the very claim of the 
synagogue of Satan to be Jews, (real believers) is denounced 
"blasphemy". What body then is referred to as "the Syna- 
gogue of Satan?" The Revelations settle that question 
so plainly that there is not so much as a doubt as to what 
body is referred to. In the twelfth chapter of Revelations the 
Roman empire is symbolized by a great seven-headed and 
ten horned red dragon. John identifies this great dragon 
with the devil and Satan. He says: "And the great dragon 
was cast out, that old serpent called the devil and Satan." 
Rev. 12 — 9. As identified with the dragon, Satan then 
is the Roman empire, or the Roman emperor. But the 
Savior, as if to give us an unmistakable clue to this matter, 
while speaking of the witnesses (and the witnesses are these 
churches) in the eleventh chapter, shows us that he not only 
uses symbolical but spiritual language. He says: "And 
their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, 
which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also 



58 



EEASTS AND SEVENS OF REVELATIONS 



our Lord was crucified." 11 — 8. The claim made by this 
synagogue of Satan, that they are Jews is spiritual language 
i. e., that they are real believers or true Christians. Paul 
says: 'Tor he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither 
is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh. But he 
is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that 
of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter ; whose praise 
is not of men, but of God." Rom. 2—28, 29. The Syna- 
gogue of Satan then is the Synagogue of the Roman emperor 
or the Roman empire. And the claim of that synagogue 
was that they were real Christians, or true believers. 

Did the Roman emperor, or empire, ever have such an 
organization? And if so when? Certainly and the date 
given. Speaking of Constantine the Roman emperor the 
historian says: "He next proceeded to interfere in the 
internal affairs of the church. Desirous that there should 
be amongst the ministers of religion the same gradation of 
ranks as existed amongst the officers of state; he assumed 
the power of arranging them into patriarchs, ex-archs, 
metropolitans, and archbishops — the ancient and Scriptural 
title of bishop being thus made the lowest of a series. He 
nominated the bishops of his four greatest cities, Rome, 
Antioch, Alexandria, and Constantinople, the patriarchs of 
the empire taking care also that their revenues should be 
adequate to support with dignity and even with splendor 
the rank which he had conferred. This new arrangement 
of ranks was formally sanctioned by the council of Nice. A. 
D. 325." Who could say that this institution was not an 
institution of the Roman emperor? He not only adopted, 
but remodeled and changed, the dhurches that agreed to his 
arrangements, until the original model could not be known. 
But the true churches refused to be rearranged and, hence, 
their tribulation and poverty. Thev were persecuted. This 
institution of Satan or of the Roman Empire makes 



THE SEVEN CHURCHES 



59 



the exact claim stated in the letter under consid- 
eration. It is known as the Roman Catholic church. 
The Greek Catholic church was set up by the same emperor 
at the same time, and is a part of the synagogue of Satan. 
The arrangement of the emperor was complete when 
4 4 Sanctioned by the council of Nice, A. D. 325." See Lives 
of the Popes P. 24 

It seems to me that the fact here shown establishes the 
symbolical theory of these churches : for no Roman emperor 
previous to Constantine ever had an institution suiting the 
description of "the Synagogue of Satan." But this is not 
all, directly or indirectly, under one symbol or another, this 
"Synagogue of Satan," is referred to in nearly all the rest 
of the seven letters. And the reader should remember that 
the "Synagogue of Satan" forms no part or parcel of the 
true church and Christ himself denounces their claim as 
such "blasphemy". The true churches, and the ones to 
which this and all the other letters of the seven are sent are 
the poor persecuted heretics of this synagogue. We will 
now proceed to examine more of this letter. "Fear none of 
those things which thou shalt suffer: behold the devil 
shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried ; and 
ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto 
death, and I will give thee a crown of life." 2 — 10. The 
Devil in this passage is the Roman emperor, and it is claimed 
that the ten days tribulation refers to the persecution by 
Dioletian as he for ten years, from 303 to 313, aimed at the 
extermination of Christianity in the empire. I see no good 
reason to dissent from this view. The last verse of the letter 
reads thus: "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the 
Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall 
not be hurt of the second death." In this age of persecution 
and death how comforting the assurance 1 , that the over- 
comer should not be hurt of the second death. Like the 



60 



BEASTS AND SEVENS OF REVELATIONS 



other promises, the second death is explained further on in 
the book. These letters point out the peculiar enemies 
>and false doctrines to be met by the church in each age 
of the time during Christ's absence, and if understood by 
the churches and pastors and other ministers of each age, 
furnish a complete hand-book of each age, pointing out the 
peculiar doctrines and special enemies, and the estimation 
of these in the eyes of their master. Happy the man that 
hath an ear to hear these things. The next letter covers the 
time from the sixth to the ninth century. "And to the angel 
of the church in Pergamos write ; these things saith he which 
hath the sharp sword with two edges: I know thy works, 
and where thou dwellest, even where Satan's seat is: and 
thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, 
even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, 
who was slain among you. where Satan dwelleth." 2 — 12- 13. 
There is to my mind positive proof in this quotation of its 
symbolical nature. Everyone knows that the church of 
Pergamos didn't dwell at Rome or Constantinople and yet 
the Savior said it dwelt at the seat of Satan. Satan was 
a symbol of the Roman empire and Constantine before this 
time had moved the seat of throne to Constantinople from 
Rome. If we accept the symbolical theory and understand 
that this, church symbolizes all the churches of that age, 
then we can readily understand that this passage has special 
reference to a true church located in Constantinople, and 
the martyr mentioned a member of that church. The 
letter to this church is quite a long one and we shall not 
quote it all. The special doctrines to be met by the churches 
in that age were the doctrine of Balaam, and the doctrine 
of the Nicolaitanes. The last mentioned doctrine it seems, 
was one where men claimed and exercised too much author- 
ity over the churches. The doctrine arose in the first 
church peiiod, and in the first letter Christ said he hated 



THE SEVEN CHURCHES 



(51 



the doctrine. It seems that those which believed the doc- 
trine might have found congenial company at this time in 
the Synagogue of Satan. The doctrine of Balaam was dif- 
ferent, he "taught Balac to cast a stumbling block before 
Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit 
fornication." Here the communion of the Catholic church 
is denounced as a sacrifice to idols and those who advocated 
that the true churches should commune with her are said 
to "hold the doctrine of Balaam/ ' Balaam also taught Israel 
to commit fornication. Spiritual fornication has already 
been explained in this work, and consists in this, for a church 
to consent to be ruled and governed by a king of earth. 
In such case the said church allows such king to usurp the 
place of Christ, and the church that does that is guilty of 
spiritual fornication. Now the Catholic church had for 
years been guilty of this very sin before this church period, 
and she had kept up a continual persecution of the true 
churches because they would not submit. We learn from 
this letter that there were men in the true churches that 
advocated this doctrine, and it is of these parties that the 
Savior says: "Repent, or else I will come unto thee quickly, 
and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth." 
2—16. 

The letter to the church in Thyatira comes next. After 
commending this church in many things the Savior says: 
"Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because, 
thou sufferest that woman Jezebel which calleth herself 
a prophetess, to teach and seduce my servants to commit 
fornication and to eat things sacrificed unto idols. And I 
gave her space to repent of her fornication ; and she repented 
not. Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that com- 
mit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they 
repent of their deeds. And I will kill her children with 
death." 2—20-23. Here we have the Catholic church 



62 



BEASTS AND SEVENS OF REVELATIONS 



under a different symbol and the true church reproved for 
permitting her to teach and seduce Christ's servants. This 
letter represents a period previous to, but the last part of 
the quotation is prophetical of, the Lutheran reformation. 
Children can be predicated of none, except those separated 
or cut loose from the mother; and it doesn't matter whether 
they are her children in the sense of having at one time been 
connected with her, or in the sense of following her example. 
The Lord established a law at the start, as recorded in the 
first chapter of Genesis, that everything should produce 
after its kind. So if this woman Jezebel is a church so are 
her children churches. This then is the first mention of 
a threat against the Protestant churches. 

As shown before a woman in Revelation always points 
to a capital city, but incidentally she may also symbolize 
a church, as when a church becomes the reigning power in 
a city. Jezebel symbolized a city of this class. Why 9 
Because she is a teacher, and because she claims to be a 
prophetess. Why do I say she is the Catholic church? 
Because she is so easily identified with "Mystery Babylon'' 
of the seventeenth chapter. She has children, she is a 
teacher, her teaching is corrupting, Jezebel was a queen, 
so is Mystery Babylon, she lives in adultery, she failed to 
repent, she is threatened with great tribulation. All of these 
things mentioned and others not mentioned point so plainly 
to the harlot of the seventeenth chapter that there is no 
mistaking as to who Jezebel is. Someone may ask, how 
could the true church prevent the teaching of the Catholic 
church? Perhaps she allowed the priests of that church to 
teach in her churches when she might have prevented it. 
There are Baptists today that do not look upon affiliation 
with errorist as any great sin. Then perhaps if she had stood 
up and exposed the great wickedness of that church, and 
the great sin of spiritual fornication, she might have pre- 



THE SEVEN CHURCHES 



63 



Tented the evil of that church's teaching in seducing God's 
servants into her communion and fornication. The Savior 
warns the true churches of that age thus: "I will give 
unto every one of you according to your works." I wish to 
call special attention to the promise made to the over- 
comers of this church period. 

"And he that overcometh and keepeth my works unto 
the end, to him will I give power over the nations: And he 
shall rule them with a rod of iron ; as the vessels of a potter 
shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my 
Father." 2 — 26, 27. If there is not an age to come when 
Christ will set his church on high over the nations, when 
is this promise to be fulfilled? That promise is not fulfilled 
in this age, to be sure ; are we not all commanded to be in 
subjection to the powers that be? Not after the nations 
have all been converted and become true believers in Christ. 
Why dash the God loving and fearing nations to shivers? 
Why rule them with a rod of iron? No, dear reader, the 
Scriptures reveal the fact that Christ will raise all the 
righteous dead and associate them with Him in his reign 
over the nations, while they are yet in unbelief as today. 
And he will govern them with a strong government while 
his church teaches them his ways. He is to be a priest on 
His throne, and thousands will be converted. And because He 
will associate His people with Him they are called kings and 
priests ; because they rire they are called kings, and because 
they make disciples, priests. And for this cause Peter calls 
the church, "A royal priesthood/' not that the church is 
a reigning priesthood now, but will be in the age to come. 

The letter to the church in Sardis comes next. This 
church represents the true churches just previous to the 
Lutheran reformation. Those who disbelieve in the per- 
petuity of the true churches, find in this church age their 
greatest glory. And it is fair to state that the Savior inti- 



64 BEASTS AND SEVENS OF REVELATIONS 

mates in the letter that the manifestation of life in the 
churches was not what it should be. However, he ack- 
nowledges it as his by sending it a letter, a thing that He 
has not done to Jezebel or any of her daughters. We quote 
from this letter: "And unto the angel of the church in 
Sardis write ; these things saith he that hath the seven spirits 
of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou 
hast a name, that thou livest, and art dead. Be watchful 
and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to 
die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God." 
Chap. 3 — 1, 2. He knew her "works", her "works", not 
"perfect." There was something the matter with her works. 
Some things remained that were ready to die. He cautioned 
her to be watchful and strengthen these things. But even 
in this age there were those which had not defiled their 
garments. And if we pay close attention to what is said 
about those faithful ones, and those faithful ones are doubt- 
less churches, I believe we may find in what special works 
the others are dead. He says: "Thou hast a few names 
even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and 
they shall walk with Me in white." The one hundred and 
forty-four thousand virgins of chapter fourteen which were 
not defiled with women, were with Christ "in white." And 
this passage, it seems to me, indicates that even in the 
church period symbolized by the church at Sardis, there are 
a few faithful churches whicb will be among the hundred 
and forty-four thousand. If this be correct the dead 
churches must have been dead in the sense that they had 
ceased to contend against state churches and had suffered 
themselves defiled by them. 

The churches of this period are called on to remember 
how they had received, and heard, and to hold fast, and 
repent. It is not at all pleasing to Christ that his churches 
should forget and cease to contend against false churches. 



THE SEVEN CHURCHES 



65 



.and false doctrines and suffer errorist to lead his people 
astray. 

The letter to the church at Philadelphia begins perhaps 
at the reformation and continued almost to the present. 

We read: "I know thy works: behold I have set before 
thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a 
little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied 
my name/' 3 — 8. This language points so plainly to the 
reformation and the settlement of this country that I don't 
see how it could be made plainer. For centuries the true 
churches had been driven into dens and caves and into 
the mountains, and their churches were outlawed, and they 
w r ere compelled to worship in secret. Mosheim said of 
them i. e., of the Anabaptists, which are the true churches, 
that at the time of the reformation they sprang up as if 
by magic in almost all the countries of Europe. The expla- 
nation is this, they had been in those countries all the while, 
but having been outlawed they were compelled to wor- 
ship in secret, but at the reformation, when the Catholics 
began such a fight among themselves, there was nothing to 
prevent them from coming out and worshipping openly. 
The reformation began to open a door for them and when 
this country was thrown open for settlement the door was 
thrown so wide open that no man has ever been able to shut 
it. 

The next verse reads thus: "Behold, I will make them 
of the Synagogue of Satan which say they are Jew r s and are 
not, but do lie ; behold, I will make them to come and wor- 
ship before thy fe'et, and to know that I have loved thee." 
3 — 9. Here we have the Synagogue of Satan mentioned 
again, w T hich we have shown is the Catholic church. It may 
be asked, if this Synagogue is that church, why was it not 
called a church instead of a synagogue? I answer, that 
the Catholic church has considerably more resemblance to 



66 



BEASTS AND SEVENS OF REVELATIONS 



a Jewish Synagogue than to a new Testament church. The 
term is decidedly more applicable. But this mention of the 
synagogue mostly refers to a time since the reformation. 
The passage quoted speaks of those "who are of the Syna- 
gogue of Satan/ ' not that Synagogue, but of it. This could 
refer to none but Protestants. Then Protestants are so 
frequently fulfilling this prophesy. They so many times 
come into the congregations of the true churches, and wor- 
shipping at the feet of the true ministry, acknowledge 
that God does love His church. 

One case to illustrate: I sat in the congregation in the 
Methodist church in Waco, Texas, in the eighties when J. 
R. Graves preached the sermon of his life, on the preser- 
vation of the Saints, There was also in the congregation 
a Methodist preacher — now they don't generally admire- 
Graves— but after hearing that sermon the said preacher 
made these remarks to a Baptist preacher: "And is that J. 
R. Graves?" When answered in the affirmative he replied: 
"I have said that J. R. Graves should never preach in my 
church, but he can preach in it as much as he wants to ; 
w r hy the man has got religion." 

I now call attention to a remarkable promise in this letter 
and if further testimony was necessary to show that the 
symbolical theory is the correct one, this would furnish it. 
Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also w r ill 
keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come 
upon all the world to try them that dwell upon the earth." 
3 — 10. The hour of temptation, what hour is that? It's 
the hour of the revelation of the man of sin (2 Thes. 2)i 
when the witnesses, which are the true churches, shall be 
slaughtered. It will come in the next church period and 
we will see how few are able to stand it. But on the account 
of the faithfulness of the churches in this church period, 
Christ promised to keep the churches of this age from the 



THE SEVEN CHURCHES 



07 



iiour, i. e., He would not bring it in the period represented 
by this church. 

We now take up the last of these letters. It symbolizes 
the true churches in the last period of this age. It is per- 
haps setting in now. The description suits exactly the 
Baptist churches now. In this age the hour of trial comes : 
in this age the witnesses are to be killed. The witnesses 
are the true churches and their ministers, these are the 
Baptist churches of today, none others are old enough. The 
witnesses had prophesied in sackcloth 1260 years. ('See 11 
Chap.) After the witnesses are killed they will lie dead three 
year and half before the resurrection of the righteous dead, 
with which they will rise. Christ reminds the church which 
represents this age, that he himself is the true witness — 
how appropriate since in this age the witnesses are to be 
killed. But before they are killed they will be reduced 
dow r n to the true believers. We will quote from the letter : 
"And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; 
These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true Witness, 
the beginning of the creation of God; I know thy works, 
that thou are neither cold nor hot; I w^ould thou wert cold 
or hot. So because thou are lukewarm, and neither cold 
nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. " Rev. 3 — 14-16. 
When the Pope regains his throne and develops into the 
anti-Christ he will demand personal worship of himself. 
All who are not real believers will leave the true churches 
and worship him, and so many are the hypocrites that when 
they leave, the churches, themselves, will appear to be gone. 
Christ will spue the churches out of His mouth by bringing 
in sight again the days of bloody persecution and death. 
But the true believers will remain true to their faith and be 
killed. John says: "And when they shall have finished 
their testimony the beast that ascendeth out of the bot- 
tomless pit shall make war against them, and shall over- 



68 



BEASTS AND SEVENS OF REVELATIONS 



come them, and kill them." Rev. 11 — 7. The apostle 
Paul shows this same spueing out of the churches in con- 
nection with the revelation of the anti-Christ. He says: 
"Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall 
not come, except there come a falling away first, and that 
man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition ; Who opposeth 
and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is 
worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of 
God showing himself that he is God." 2 Thes. 2, 3, 4. The 
Savior, as I understand, tells us what will become of these 
people when they fall away from the true churches, they 
will go away and join false churches that agree to worship 
the anti-Christ. When he takes his seat in the temple 
of God all false churches will worship him; for all shall 
worship him whose names are not written in the book of 
life of the lamb slain from the foundation of the world." 
13 — 8. The Savior says: "Let both grow together until 
the harvest: and in the time of the harvest I will say to 
the reapers, Gather up first the tares, and bind them in 
bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into my barn/' 
Matt 13—30. We find in this quotation that the 'first 
thing done when Christ gets ready to harvest the earth, i& 
to have the tares bound in bundles to be burned. I under- 
stand the bundles into which the tares are bound to be the 
churches into w T hich the wicked are gathered. I under- 
stand the bundles to refer to the same thing as the clusters 
of the vine of the earth. John says: "And another angel 
came out from the altar, which had power over fire: and 
cried with a. loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, 
saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle and gather the clusters 
of the vine of the earth ; for her grapes are fully ripe. And 
the angel thurst in his sickle into the earth, and gathered 
the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress 
of the wrath of God. And the winepress was trodden without 



THE SEVEN CHURCHES 



69 



the city, and blood came out of the winepress even unto 
the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred 
furlongs." Rev. 14—18-20. 

This vine of the earth is doubtless the vine of Protest- 
antism, and the clusters of the vine and the bundles of the 
tares are the denominations into which it is divided. It 
will be wholly given over to the worship of the beast at the 
coming of Christ. John says: "And they had a king over 
them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit wdiose name 
in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue 
hath his name Apollyon." Rev. 9 — 11. This angel of the 
pit is the Pope, or the pastor of the Roman Catholic church, 
who at that time will be king again, and the locusts that 
have him as their king are the Protestants, as we will show 
when we take up the seven trumpets. 

That the Protestants constitute the vine of the earth that 
is thrown into the winepress at the great day of God's 
wrath, is not only showm from the Revelations but from 
the song of Moses. The reader should remember that 
belfoie the first chapter of Genesis was wTitten that God 
knew what the entire Bible would contain, unto the last 
chapter of Revelations; hence he could describe the vine 
of the earth in the song of Moses as well as in the Reve- 
lations. If the reader can see that in the beast and his 
image, the song of Moses is in part fulfilled, he can see why 
those who had gotten the victory over the beast and his 
image should be singing that song. "And I saw as it were 
a sea of glass mingled with fire : and them that had gotten 
the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his 
mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea 
of glass, having the harps of God. And they sing the song 
of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the lamb, 
saying, Great and marvelous are thy works, Lord God 
Almighty, just and true are thy ways, thou King of Saints." 



70 



BEASTS AND SEVENS OF REVELATIONS 



Rev. 15 — 2, 3. Now, for the song of Moses. In speaking 
of those from whom God will finally deliver His people, 
and take vengeance on, "At the time when their foot shall 
slide/' which evidently refers to the great battle of the Wine- 
press in which the beast and false prophet are; destroyed, 
Revelation 19 — 9, he says: "For their rock is not as our 
rock, even our enemies themselves being judges. For their 
vine is of the vine of Sodom, and of the fields of Gomorrah : 
Their grapes are grapes of gall; their clusters are bitter; 
their wine is the poison of serpents, and the cruel venom of 
asps. Deut. 32—31-33. Is not this the vine of the earth? 
Rev. 14 — 18. But is it the vine of Protestantism? We 
will examine it and see. It is of the vine of Sodom, John 
says: "And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the 
great city which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, 
wheie also our Lord was crucified." Rev. 11 — 8. This 
great city, in the street of which the witnesses are to lie 
dead, is the city of Rome — no other city is thus spoken of 
in Revelations as the capital city of the Catholic church. 
She embraces that church and incidentally the Catholic 
church is called Sodom. The vine spoken of in the song of 
Moses is of the vine of Sodom ; so is the vine of Protestant- 
ism. The Protestant churches are but off-shoots of the 
Church of Rome ; Rome is Sodom. 

But further, this vine that Moses is talking about is 
beyond question a religious vine, because he is showing 
a difference between the God of Jacob and other Gods. 
But there is one more point in the quotation which I think 
identifies the vine of Moses with the vine of Protestantism 
beyond controversy. "Their wine is the poison of serpents." 
The reader will remember that John in the twelfth chapter 
of Revelations symbolizes the Roman empire by a great 
red dragon; that he identifies this dragon with that "old 
serpent the devil and Satan." That the dragon or serpent 



THE SEVEN CHURCHES 



71 



Avill represent the territory of the old Roman 'empire through 
this entire age, unto the coming of Christ, as indicated by 
the ten horns on the dragon, /for the horns being placed 
on the dragon show that the dragon will still represent the 
empire after its division. This being the case it would be 
perfectly Scriptural today to speak of any of those govern- 
ments on that old territory, as dragon or serpent nations. 
The reader will remember that the Protestant churches in 
their origin had adulterous connection with these serpents ; 
that they became inoculated with the poison of these ser- 
pents, goes without saying, the first Protestant churches 
being poisoned by these serpents could but transmit the 
poison to their children or the churches springing from 
them. Thus the wine of Protestanism is the poison of 
serpents, so is the wine of the vine of Sodom. 

But before we close the chapter on "The Seven Churches" 
we call the attention of the reader to the eleventh chapter 
of Revelations, where John measures the temple. I believe 
if the reader will follow us through this chapter he will 
understand the Scriptural teaching about all the denomi- 
nations of Christians. "And there was given me a reed like 
unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise and measure 
the temple of Gcd, and the altar, and them that worship 
therein. But the court which is without the temple leave 
out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: 
and the Holy City shall they tread under foot forty and two 
months. And I will give power unto my two witnesses 
and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and three 
score days, clothed in sackcloth. These are the two olive 
trees and the two c andlesticks standing before the God of 
the earth. And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth 
out of their mouth and devoureth their enemies: and if any 
man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed. These 
have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of 



72 



BEASTS AND SEVENS OF REVELATIONS 



their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them 
to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues as often 
as they will. And when they shall have finished their 
testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the abyss shall 
make war against them, and shall overcome them, and 
kill them. And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of 
the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, 
where also our Lord was crucified. And they of the people 
and kindred, and tongues, and nations, shall see their dead 
bodies three days and an half and shall not suffer their 
dead bodies to be put in graves. And they that dwell upon 
the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and 
shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets 
tormented them that dwelt on the earth. And after three 
days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into 
them and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell 
upon them which saw them. And they heard a great voice 
from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And 
they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies 
beheld them." Rev. 11—1 to 12. 

The temple which John was commanded to measure in 
this passage, is the church. Not only does Paul frequently 
call the church' a temple, or the temple, or house of God, 
but John in the passage puts it under the regular symbol 
of a candle stick before he proceeds to measure it. Before 
we examine the measurement of the temple we wall notice 
the court otf the temple which was to be left out and un- 
measured. This court was to be given to the Gentiles, or as 
the new revision has it, to the nations, i. e., to worship in. 
This passage explains the whole matter relating to God's 
worshipers, some worship God in the church or temple, 
others in the court without the temple or church. It also 
enables us to tell definitely who constitute! the church. A 
concise prophetical history of the church or temple 



THE SEVEN CHURCHES 



73 



measured here is given in the second and third chapters of 
the book. Now as none but Jews worshiped in the temple, 
none but spiritual Jews worship in the church. When 
Christ so positively disputed the claim of the Synagogue 
of Satan, to being Jews, denouncing it as blasphemy, see 
the letter to the church at Smyrna, chapter two. He for- 
ever set aside the claim of the Catholic and Greek churches 
to being any part or parcel of his church. Satan beyond 
all question is a symbol of the Roman empire, or emperor, 
see twelfth chapter, and these churches are the only insti- 
tutions of the Roman emperor that ever claimed to be 
Jews or true churches, i. e., the church or temple. These 
churches or synagogues of Satan, are only court worshipers. 
Not only this but in the second last letter, chapter three, 
Christ speaks of some who are of the Synagogue of Satan, 
who claim likewise to be Jews, and he denounces their 
claim as a lie. This could refer to none but to the Protes- 
tant churches, for they are the only institutions which are 
of the Catholic church that claim to be Jews or true 
churches, i. e., temple worshipers. Christ by disputing their 
claim as Jews likewise committed them to the court as 
worshipers, leaving them entirely out of the church. The 
court nor its worshipers were to be measured. 

One more thing before we take up the measurement of 
the temple. These nations or gentiles wer>e to tread "the 
holy city" under foot forty and two months, i. e., twelve 
hundred and sixy years. This holy city is the city of 
Jerusalem. In Daniel we read: "Then I heard a holy 
one speaking; and another holy one said unto that certain 
one who spake, How long shall be the vision concerning the 
continual burnt offering and the transgression that maketh 
desolate, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be 
trodden under foot? And he said unto me, Unto two 
thousand and three hundred evenings and mornings ; then 



74 



BEASTS AND SEVENS OF REVELATIONS 



shall the sanctuary be cleansed. " Dan. 8 — 13, 14. Daniel 
here is prophesying of the destruction of Jerusalem by 
the Roman emperor and he sets the time for treacling the 
Jews under foot at 2300 years. 

Our Savior speaking of the same matter, Matthew chapter 
24, after referring to Daniel, said in verse twenty-two : "And 
except those days had been shortened, no flesh would have 
been saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be 
shortened." Perhaps that the 1260 years of John shows 
the shortening of Daniel's 2300, spoken of by Christ. The 
witnesses likewise were to prophesy 1260 years in sack- 
cloth, i. e., the church was to suffer. We will show this 
when w T e take up the measurement of the temple. We only 
refer to it here in order to show that both natural and 
spiritual Israel was to have a period of 1260 years tribu- 
lation. In regard to the affliction of natural Israel, Pres- 
cott, in his history of Ferdinand and Isabella, after show- 
ing that the modern inquisition was instituted in Spain 
for the purpose of persecuting the Jews, says: "The iniqui- 
ties of the fathers have been visited upon the children of 
this unhappy people, in every country, where it has been 
their unfortunate lot to sojourn/ 7 We call the attention 
df the reader to the fact, that it is not at all necessary, that 
the years of tribulation follow consecutively. Both natural 
and spiritual Israel have suffered a great deal already, but 
both are having a rest now, and it is a revealed fact that the 
last portion of their period will be the worst for both. For 
natural Israel the last part is called, "The day of Jacob's 
trouble." For spiritual Israel the altar is as broad as the 
temple. John in the twelfth chapter shows the persecu- 
• tion of both natural and spiritual Israel. After the woman 
fled into the wilderness, which woman is Jerusalem, as the 
capital city of the Jews, she embraced the nation over 
which she reigned, the dragon turned his attention to the 



THE SEVEN CHURCHES 



75 



persecution of -the remnant elf the woman's seed, which 
remnant is the church. But perhaps I have delayed the 
attention of the reader too long already from the measure- 
ment of the temple. 

Although John gives a concise prophetical history of the 
church in the second and third chapters of Revelations, he 
did it under the symbol of seven candle sticks. There is 
really but one church, but its history is divided into seven 
periods. The reader would get the correct idea, if he would 
imagine the candle sticks all sitting in a row, or better if 
he will think of the candle stick which Solomon made for 
the Sanctuary; he made it all of one beaten piece of gold 
with three branches coming out from each side. These 
with the main stem made a candle stick with seven places 
for light all in a row. And this candle stick of the Sanctu- 
ary, was doubtless a type of the church and points to the 
same seven churches olf John. But now as the measure- 
ment which John gives relates to the entire history of the 
church and not to just one or two periods of its history, 
John represents the entire temple by one candle stick and 
proceeds to measure. 

The reader may object by saying that there are two candle 
sticks spoken of in the passage. I answer that Pharaoh had 
two separate and independent dreams, but Joseph told him 
that his dream was one, that it was doubled to him, because 
the thing was established or determined by God. I look 
upon this as a similar case that two candle sticks are 
mentioned, because all things relating to his church are 
determined. And his church is but one, ther»e was but the 
one temple mentioned. "There is one body/' says Paul. 
The candle stick then, as I understand, is a symbol of the 
church, and the olive tree <a symbol of the ministry. Let 
the reader keep in mind that the church or temple measured 
here, is that band of believers that stood aloof from the 



7(3 



BEASTS AND SEVENS OF RE VELiA TIONS 



church of Rome down through the agas and suffered from 
her hand. When Christ set aside the claim of the Catholic 
church and her daughters to being His church, he left but 
the one claimant in the field, i. e., the Baptist, the successor 
of the persecuted church of the past. 

It is not my intention to make an argument in favor 
of church perpetuity. I only remark that a belief in the 
doctrine is absolutely necessary to a correct understanding 
of the Revelations. John measured the church in regard 
to its rights, powers, period of its persecution, final destiny, 
etc. As to its right, it had no right to return in kind, the 
persecutions of its enemies, but was to defend itself with the 
fire of its mouth. Christ said, I came to send fire on the 
earth. When he sent his church he sent them with that 
fire — the fire of his word. When any desired to hurt them, 
they were to be killed with that fire. As to powers, they 
had power to shut heaven ; that it rain not in the days of 
their prophesy. I understand this rain to be the rain of 
the gospel. The Catholic church had wandered from the 
Scriptures so far, until she was in as complete darkness as 
to the plan of salvation, as the heathen world around her. 
The plan of salvation was understood by the church alone. 
She had the power to grant the rain of the gospel, or to 
shut the heaven that it rain not. There are many among 
the Protestants today and perhaps even among the Catho- 
lics that understand the plan of salvation, but Christ might 
well answer them as Samson answered the Philistines. 
When the Philistines could by no other means find out 
Samson's riddle, they finally got it through Samson's wife, 
so when they came and told him the riddle, he said: "If 
ye had not plowed with my heifer, ye had not found out my 
riddle." The church had power over waters to turn them to 
blood. Water is a symbol of people, and if any doubt the 
power of the church to stir them to the point of shedding 



THE SEVEN CHURCHES 



77 



blood, let the ministers of the church arise and preach 
boldly the doctrines of the church, and present her claims, 
to being the church and they can soon see. . John showed 
this when he gave an account of the angel of the tenth 
chapter, with the little book opened. When this angel 
stood with his right foot on the sea, (Catholic church) 1 and 
his left foot on the earth, (The Protestant denominations) 
his feet in the main time as pillars of fire, he raised the 
\ oices of the seven thunders, he put John to prophesying 
again, notwithstanding the new version has it "The waters." 
If any special people are meant it is the Catholic church. 
John says: "The waters which thou sawest where the 
harlot sitteth are peoples/' etc., i. e., the people ruled by 
Rome. Thus specifying a people. The church was to 
have a period of 1260 years in sackcloth. This points to 
deep mourning. The mourning was doubtlessly for their 
fallen comrades as w r e find that one-third of their numbers 
fell. The 1260 years would 'not imply the entire length of 
their prophecy, but the part in "sackcloth." But the part 
in "sackcloth" would entirely cut off the protestant world, 
as being the witnesses, or the true church, as the oldest of 
them are too young, by 800 years. John was commanded 
to "measure the temple and the altar and them that wor- 
ship therein." The altar at Solomon's temple was one-third 
the length and the entire width of the temple. This doubt- 
less was typical of this very thing, as we find from Reve- 
lations that one- third of the church went to the altar, and at 
the last the entire church is to be killed ; the altar is as wide 
as the temple. "And when they shall have finished their 
testimony the beast that ascendeth from the abyss shall 
make war against them, overcome them and kill them." 
The beast, or king, that is finally to "kill them," is the 
Pope when he regains his throne. Some one may say that 
the language of the Savior in Matthew 16 — 18 that, "the 



78 



BEASTS AND SEVENS OF REVELATIONS 



gates of Hades shall not prevail against it," would preclude 
the idea, that any power could kill the church. I reply that 
though the church might pass the gates of Hades, or the 
spirit world, it would not imply that those! gates were able 
to hold them there. I have thought that the passage from 
Matthew has been misunderstood. We all know that the 
gates of ancient cities, from which the Savior took His 
illustration, were not aggressive, but defensive implements 
of warfare. But though this was true they served the pur- 
pose, when prisoners were taken, to hold them in; and this 
is the gist of the Savior's promise that though the gates of 
Hades should close upon his church they should not be 
able to hold it down. He said in Revelations 1 — 18: "I 
have the keys of death and of Hades." If he has the keys 
of these places, why should their gates hold down His 
church? It was a sure promise of the resurrection for His 
church. Not only in the passage under consideration does 
it seem that the entire church will be destroyed, but in 
the parable of then virgins, in Matthew, chapter 25, it is 
stated that while the bridegroom tarried that "they all 
slumbered and slept." If these ten virgins stand for all the 
churches the same thing is taught here. We remember that 
when the Savior comes "Two shall be in one bed, one shall 
be taken and the other left ; That two women are grinding at 
the mill, one is taken and the other left," etc. And that 
Paul said that "We should not all sleep." But these things 
might be said of individual members of the church that 
had escaped when the church had been killed, or it might 
be said of the court worshipers, who are not taken into 
consideration in this measurement. Again, these witnesses 
were only to lie dead three and a half years. They finish 
their testimony and are destroyed just that long before the 
coming of Christ and the resurrection of the righteous dead. 
The resurrected church will be the only organization to 



THE SEVEN CHURCHES 



79 



carry the gospel to the nations during the next age, the 
Millennial age. The people will get nothing but the pure 
word ol£ God. The members of the church will be made 
kings and priests. Kings to estop outbreaking wickedness 
and priests to bring their subjects to Christ. Christ at that 
time the King of Kings, will sit upon His throne at Jerusa- 
lem. Satan will be chained and entirely out of all church 
building enterprises. At the dedication of the temple that 
the Jews built upon their return from Babylon, there was 
much weeping on the part of the old men because the temple 
was so inferior to the one w^hich Solomon built, which they 
remembered, but the Lord said: "The latter glory of this 
house shall be greater than the former." Hag. 2 — 9. If 
the reader will examine the entire passage from which I 
quote, he will find that it is in the next age that this is to 
be. For it is after God shakes the heavens and the earth. 
Xow if in the next age the temple in Jerusalem is to 
excel in glory the house built by Solomon, what of the church 
that that house typified? Will not the resurrected church 
share in the glory of the latter house? 



80 



EEASTS AND SEVENS OF REVELATIONS 



Chapter 8. 

THE BOOK WITH SEVEN SEALS. 

After having seen the vision oif the seven candlesticks, 
and Christ in the midst, and been given an interpreta- 
tion of the same with a prophetical history of the church 
through this entire age, John was taken to a new view- 
point, from which he saw other things. His first view- 
point was the Isle of Patmos; his second, heaven. The 
fourth and fifth chapters of Revelations are mainly taken 
up in a description of his second viewpoint. Before taking 
up the book, itself, we call attention of the reader to some 
of the things John saw in the second mentioned place. 
First, are the four beasts and the four and twenty elders 
that John saw around the throne in .heaven symbolical 
characters? If so, what do they symbolize? They cer- 
tainly are, and they symbolize the saved of all nations, 
tongues, and people. Hear what these characters say of 
themselves: "And when he had taken the book the four 
beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the 
lamb, having every one of them harps and golden vials full 
of odours, which are the prayers of saints. And they sung 
a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book and 
to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain and hast 
redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and 
tongue, and people, and nation. And hast made us unto 
our God Kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth/' 
Rev. 5 — 8-10. We learn from this song that the redeemed 
of every nation, tongue, and people shall reign on the earth. 
The residence of the saved in heaven is only temporary. 
When Christ returns to take charge of the nations of the 
earth and to reign over them he will bring all the redeemed 
with Him, and associate them with Him in his reign. This 
is the general teaching of the Scriptures. 



THE BOOK WITH SEVEN SEALS 



81 



It may be asked, why symbolize the saved by both beasts 
and elders? If these beasts symbolize kingdoms or gov- 
ernments, m beasts always do when used as symbols, it 
seems to indicate that when Christ comes to rule "the 
nations with the rod of iron" that He will divide the earth 
into four grand kingdoms, with His throne in the midst. 
These beasts claimed, as well as the elders, that they were 
redeemed by the blood of Christ, and that they should reign 
on the earth. John saw one sitting o ; n the throne in 
heaven and in his right hand a little book. It is of that 
little book we now propose to write. Like the other sevens 
of Revelations this little book, sealed with seven seals, con- 
tained a prophetical history of things which were to come to 
pass. Neither are we left to guess as to where the things 
described in the book were to take place, for although John 
saw the things in heaven, he states repeatedly that the 
things occurred upon the earth. Our Savior was the only 
one upon the earth, or under the earth, or in heaven worthy 
or able to open the book or loose its seals. The little book 
shows first the rise and progress of the 'four important 
religions, that were: to arise before the return of Christ. It 
begins with the religion of Jesus, himself. We will now 
examine the book, seal by seal. 

"And I saw when the lamb opened one of the seals, and 
I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four 
beasts saying, Come and see. And I saw, and behold a 
white horse and he that sat on him had a bow ; and a crown 
was given unto him : and he went forth conquering, and to 
conquer." Rev. 6 — 1, 2. 

This is the first time, mentioned in Revelations, that 
John saw the man on the white horse. He saw him again 
at the close of the dispensation in combat with the beast 
and false prophet. (Revelations nineteen.) There can be 
no question as to his identity. John says "And his name 



82 



BEASTS AND SEVENS OF REVELATIONS 



is called the word of God." Rev. li 13. And verse six- 
teen says: "And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a 
name written, King of Kings and .^ord of Lords." The man 
on the white horse is the Lord Jesus. This first appearance 
was at his first coming and the introduction of his religion. 
The expression in the passage under consideration, "And 
he went forth conquering," shows that He not only in- 
tended to set forth the introducton, but also the progress 
of his religion. As Christ appeared to John at the intro- 
duction of his religion on a white horse, so he appeared at 
the close of the dispensation up on a white horse. There 
are three other characters on different colored horses shown 
in this sixth chapter. In the nineteenth chapter the man 
on the white horse returns and has a reckoning with the 
beast and false prophet; these are the men on the black and 
pale horses. As there is no specific mention made of any 
third power in the nineteenth chapter, perhaps the Moham- 
medan religion, the religion set forth by the man on the red 
horse, will have become extinct, or at least insignificant, 
before the return of Christ. We will now notice the red 
horse and his rider. "And when he had opened the second 
seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see. And there 
went out another horse that was red: and pow T er was given 
to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth and 
that they should kill one another: and there was given un- 
to him a great sword." Rev. 6—3, 4. This man sets forth 
the introduction and progress of the Mohammedan religion. 
Besides falling in the exact place, historically, between the 
first coming of Christ and the rise of the papal kingdom, 
and John deals with the Pope as la king (see thirteenth 
chapter), the description exactly suits Mohammed and his 
religion. 

Each of these men on horses set forth kingdoms as well 
as religions, and as we have shown from the Revelations 



THE BOOK WITH SEVEN SEALS 



83 



that the man on the white horse is Christ, we will show 
from the same source that the man on the black horse sets 
forth the papal kingdom; and as the man on the red horse 
comes between, there is historical argument in favor of 
Mohammed. And Mohammedanism propagating itself by 
force of arms exactly corresponds with the man on the red 
horse. We will make two quotations. "The origin of the 
Crusades is to be found in the rise and progress of Moham- 
medanism, which propagating itself by force of arms, at 
one time threatened either to extirpate all the nations of 
Christendom or to subdue them to its own despotic domin- 
ion. The spirit of Mohammedanism was essentially the 
spirit of conquest : and its conquests were multiplied with 
the most astonishing rapidity. Within a brief period it 
penetrated to the very heart of Europe. The whole of 
Christendom was thrown into the utmost consternation, and 
but for the signal victory of the illustrious Charles Martel, 
who completely defeated an army of 400,000 Moslems, the 
very existence of Christianity would, according to human 
appearance, have been endangered." The Crusaaes P. 11-12. 
We next quote what Mohammed said of himself: "Dif- 
ferent prophets," said he, "have been sent by God to illus- 
trate his different attributes — Moses, his providence ; Solo- 
mon, his wisdom, majesty and glory; Jesus Christ, his 
righteousness, omniscience and power. None of these at- 
tributes however, have been sufficient to enforce conviction 
and even the miracles of Moses and Jesus have been re- 
ceived with unbelief. I therefore have been sent with the 
sword." Lives of the Popes, page 112. 

It was said of John in the quotation from Revelations, 
that there was given to the man on the red horse "a great 
sword," Mohammed had it, and that he should "take peace 
from the earth" — Mohammed did it. 

We next take up the black horse and his rider. "And 



84 



BEASTS AND SEVENS OF REVELATIONS 



when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast 
say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse ; and 
he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. And 
I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure 
of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a 
penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine," Rev. 
6 — 5, 6. John gave us the key to this man's identity when 
he said: "Ana he that sat on him had a pair of balances 
in his hand." Balances point to a merchant. The prophet 
of old speaking of Ephraim said: "He is a merchant, the 
balances of deceit are in his hand." Hosea. 12 — 7. The 
Pope is the man on the black horse, he is the religious 
merchant. That the reader may understand how this was 
understood in Bible times we quote a passage from the 
Prophet Isaiah: "For the head of Syria is Damascus, and 
the head of Damascus is Rezin; and the head of Ephraim 
is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is Remliah's son." 
Isa. 7 — 8, 9. We see from this quotation that the capital 
city was the head of the government, and that the king or 
ruler was the head of the capital city. So John makes the 
city of Rome the head of .the papal kingdom, and the Pope 
the head of the city of Rome. It is Rome, the head of the 
papal kingdom, that is the religious merchant, but the Pope 
is her head. 

In Revelations, chapter eighteen, verses twelve and thir- 
teen, John mentions quite a number of articles handled by 
this merchant. There is one article in the catalogue of this 
trafficker, that can be bought from him only, and this alone 
would forever settle it on the Pope as being the merchant 
of the black horse. The article referred to may be found in 
Revelations, chapter eighteen, verse thirteen, and reads: 
"Souls of men." Untold wealth has this merchant coined 
on the article. He prices the souls in purgatory according 
to the ability of the purchaser to buy. The voice that John 



THE BOOK WITH SEVEN SEALS 



85 



heard when he saw the black horse is also significant. "A 
measure of wheat for a penny , and three measures of barley 
for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine." 
This passage as well as the "balances" shows the merchant 
or trafficker. Not only that, but it shows that this traf- 
ficker handles the same line of goods as the man of the 
eighteenth chapter. Three articles in the passage are 
mentioned in the catalog of the Pope, namely wheat, wine 
and oil. (See Chap. 18 — 13): That the man on the black 
horse is the beast of the seventeenth chapter, which as 
head of the city, Rome, is the merchant of the eighteenth . 
chapter, I think has been sufficiently proved. The notori- 
ous commercialism of the church of Rome is so generally 
known, and has been so specifically pointed out by John, 
that it seems only necessary to call the attention of the 
reader to the fact that the man on the black horse is a 
merchant, in order to convince him that the Pope is sym- 
bolized by him. And that the man of the black horse is a 
most notorious trader, is shown by the fact that this feature 
alone in his entire career is used to point him out. 

Then if the man on the white horse is Christ, the man on 
the red horse Mohammed, and the man on the black horse 
the Pope, who is the man on the pale horse? Martin 
Luther. If the first three represent the introduction and 
career of the religion of Christ, Mohammed and the Pope, 
one would naturally suppose so but that of itself would be 
insufficient to prove it, if the characteristics of the man on 
the pale horse fail to correspond with the Protestants. We 
will examine that point. 

'And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the 
voice of the fourth beast saying, Come. And I saw, and 
behold, a pale horse : and he that sat on him, his name was 
death and Hades followed with him. And there was given 
unto them authority over the fourth part of the earth, to 



86 



BEASTS AND SEVENS OF REVELATIONS 



kill with sword, and with famine, and with death and by the 
wild beast of the earth." Rev. 6 — 7, 8. As the main char- 
acteristic of the man on the black horse is that of the trader, 
the main characteristic of the man on the pale horse is that 
of the warrior. The one hundred and (fifty years, spent by 
the Protestants in religious wars in Europe in their begin- 
ning, to prevent the Catholic church from driving them back 
into her communion, don't tend to clear them of the war 
characteristic. 

The Protestants don't accept in totality the doctrine of 
.Christ, when he said, "Resist not him that is evil: but who- 
soever smiteth thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the 
other also." Matt. 5 — 39. By failing to do so the Protestant 
throws himself in range of the Savior's prophesy when he 
said: "All they that take the sword shall perish with the 
sword." Matt. 26 — 52. And this is the destiny of the man 
on the black horse. Rev. 13 — 10. 

Back to the subject. If the question should be asked of 
any well-informed Catholic or pagan, as to what nation on 
the earth would be the hardest to handle, he would doubt- 
less point to some Protestant nation, either to Germany, 
England or the United States. The Protestant has the 
characteristic of the warrior. Under the sounding of the 
trumpets Protestants are symbolized by locusts and John 
says, "And the shapes of the locust were like unto horses 
prepared for w^ar." Rev. 9 — 7. And again "their teeth were 
as the teeth of lions." The name of him that sat on the 
pale horse was Death. In the wars which are imminent, as 
I expect to show when I take up the trumpets, the Prot- 
estant will doubtless show his right to the appellation, and 
wherever he goes to war Hades or the spirit world will follow 
with him. When the Pope regains his throne he will have 
the name Abaddon, Apollyon, or Destroyer. Rev. 9 — 11 
Whatever nation cr ruler leads the Protestants will have 



THE BOOK WITH SEVEN SEALS 



87 



the title of Death. As we have shown in another part 
of this work that the two-horned beast of chapter thirteen 
will head the Protestant world at that time, and that the 
United States is that beast so we believe that the United 
States or her leader will bear the name. 

If we are correct as to the parties symbolized by these 
horses and their riders (and who can gainsay it?) the men 
of the black and pale horses are the beast and false prophet 
of chapter nineteen. We now call the attention of the 
reader to what the man of the white horse will do with them 
at his return. "And I saw the beast, and the kings of the 
earth, and their armies gathered together to make war 
against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. 
And the best was taken, and with him the false prophet that 
wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them 
that had received the mark of the beast, and them that 
worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a 
lake of fire burning with brimstone. And the remnant were 
slain with the sword of him that sat on the horse, which 
sword proceeded out of his mouth; and all the fowls were 
filled with their flesh." Rev. 19—19, 20, 21. Then if the 
men of the black and pale horses fall by the sword of the 
man on the white horse at his return, it is reasonable to 
suppose that, whatever may be left of the Mohammedan 
power, the man of the red horse, will likewise fall in the 
same great battle. This is the great battle of the Wine- 
press. See Rev. 14—20 ; also Isa. 63—1-6 ; and Joel 3—9-17. 

It being our intention not to make exhaustive argu- 
ments in favor of our positions, but merely to indicate a 
line of interpretation, we hasten on. "And when he had 
opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them 
that had been slain for the word of God, and for the testi- 
mony which they held: and they cried with a great voice, 
saying, How long, 0, Master, the holy and true, doest 



88 



FEASTS AXD SEVENS OF REVELATIONS 



thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell 
on the earth? And there was given them to each one a 
white robe ; and it was said unto them, that they should rest 
yet for a little time, until their fellow servants also and 
their brethren, who should be killed even as they were, 
should have been fulfilled." Rev. 6—9, 10, 11. That 
Christ will take vengeance for the blood of His people at 
his coming, is so generally taught in the Scriptures, that we 
only refer to it here. And that He will cause His enemies 
to drink of the same cup they give his people, anyone can 
see by reading Revelations chapter eighteen, verse six. But 
these souls were to wait until all their brethren that should 
be killed, were killed, then the vengeance. But these 
souls were given white robes, this doubtless refers to their 
resurrection. As shown in another place John treats the 
resurrection of the righteous dead under the symbol of the 
Jewish harvest. These souls are doubtless the first fruits, 
and are the 144,000 virgins of chapter 14, and as we have 
examined this in another place we drop it here. 

Xow, the rest cif the righteous having been killed that 
were to be slain, Christ returns to avenge his people. He 
opens the sixth seal and permits John to see the wicked 
fleeing to the dens and caves and raising their fruitless 
prayers to the rocks and mountains. He also saw the 
physical phenomena that accompanies the scene. Will the 
reader turn and read his description to save quotation. 
Revelations, chapter six, verse twelve. John saw so much 
when the sixth seal was opened, that he devotes an extra 
chapter to it. In the seventh chapter and under this seal, 
he gives us the condition of the Jews at that time. It is 
the general teaching of the Scriptures, that they will have 
in part, been gathered back to their own land, before the 
return of Christ. They are returning now by the thousands. 
According to the Jewish year book there is something over 



THE BOOK WITH SEVEN SEALS 



89 



11,400,000 of them all told. If they were all gathered home 
they would make a nation of considerable strength. They 
have not succeeded so far in getting their old temple site 
from the Mohammedans. They evidently will and reestab- 
lish their ancient worship. Paul is his prophecy of the man 
of sin, which is the seven-headed beast of John, and evi- 
dently the Pope said: "Who opposeth and exalteth him- 
self above all that is called God, or that is worshipped ; so 
that he as God sitteth in the temple of God showing him- 
self that He is God/' 2 Thes. 2—4. According to this 
prophecy when the Jews rebuild their temple, and the Pope 
regains his throne, and becomes the great anti-Christ of 
the last day, he will take his seat in the temple as God. 
The Savior, himself, said: "I came in my father's name 
and ye receive me not, if another comes in his own name, 
him will ye receive." There will be plausible reasons why 
the Jews should accept the Pope as their king, he will be 
the king and ruler of the whole earth. John says: "And 
power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and 
nations. And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship 
him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the 
lamb slain from the foundation of the world." Rev. 13 — 7, 
8. But the Jews will not all accept the Pope as their king 
and God. John tells us in this seventh chapter, of 144,000 
sealed for the true God. 

The reader should not get these 144,000 Jews mixed up 
with the 144,000 Virgins of chapter fourteen. This is natural 
Israel, that is spiritual Israel. These are the remnant of 
those returning now that will be saved. In order that the 
reader may understand the situation of Israel at the re- 
turn of Christ, I quote from Zechariah chapter fourteen: 
"Behold a day of Jehovah cometh, when thy spoil shall be 
divided in the midst of thee. For I will gather all nations 
against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken 



90 



BEASTS AXD SEVENS OF REVELATIONS 



and the house rifled, and the women ravished; and half 
of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue 
of the people shall not be cut off from the city. Then shall 
Jehovah go forth, and fight against those nations, as when 
he fought in the day of battle. And his feet shall stand in 
that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jeru- 
salem on the east; and the mount of Olives shall be cleft 
in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, 
and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the 
mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it 
toward the south. And ye shall flee by the valley of my 
mountains; for the valley shall reach unto Azel; yea, ye 
shall flee like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the 
days of Uzziah king of Judah ; and Jehovah my God shall 
come and all the holy ones with thee;" The reader can see 
from this quotation that only half of the Jews that have 
returned will escape at this the greatest battle of all battles. 
These are doubtless those 144,000 that have been sealed, 
or that have accepted Christ. The holy ones, or the saints 
which return with Christ, are the saved of all ages. The 
resurrection of the righteous has perhaps taken place seven 
years before this battle. The reader will remember that 
the Savior said that his coming would be as in the days 
of Xoah, and also, as in the days of Lot. Noah entered 
the ark, and God shut him in, then it was seven days before 
the flood began. But the very day that Lot fled from. 
Sodom it rained fire and brimstone. Now if these saints or 
holy ones which come with Christ, are the resurrected saints 
and have been resurrected seven years, they have been safely 
in the ark for seven days or years while the Jews, surrounded 
by the combined armies of the earth, are saved by the op- 
portune return of Christ. And when Christ puts his feet 
upon the mount of Olives he divides the mountains and 
the Jews flee like Lot from Sodom. Then comes the great 



THE BOOK WITH SEVEN SEALS 



91 



battle of the Winepress, when Christ meets the beast and 
kings of the earth in battle and the blood runs to the bridles 
of the horses, "by the space of a thousand and six hundred 
furlongs/' It is the day of vengeance. 

The angel with the seal, who seals these Jews, 12,000 to 
the tribe, 144,000 in all, is some minister with the Holy 
Spirit, for it is by the Spirit that we are sealed. The angels 
which are holding the four winds, are the leaders of the 
civil powers or they are the invisible angels of the four 
quarters of the earth. The angel with the seal seems to 
have influence enough with these civil leaders to hold them 
back from plunging the earth into the universal war which, 
by the way, is coming, until he accomplishes the great work 
of bringing 144,000 of the Jews which have returned to 
their own land to Christ. 

John also saw under the sixth seal, the saved of all nations 
standing before the thone in heaven in white robes. They 
must have been resurrected as they were in white, and this 
must have been previous to Christ's coming to avenge His 
people, as He brings all the Saints with Him at that time. 
It seems clear that he will make two appearances to the 
earth in connection with these events. First, at the first 
resurrection and translation of the living saints. John thus 
describes that event. "Behold, he cometh with clouds; and 
every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: 
and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him." 
Rev. 1 — 7. Second, he also comes with all the saints, to 
deliver the Jews, which are in great straits at Jerusalem, 
and to set up his kingdom. 



92 



BEASTS AND SEVENS OF REVELATIONS 



Chapter 9. 
THE SEVEN TRUMPETS. 
Before taking up the seven trumpets I will make some 
explanation for the benefit of the reader. The time inter- 
vening between the first and second coming of Christ was 
divided into seven periods and each of the angels with 
his trumpet has charge of a period. The angels, themselves, 
fare out of sight of the rulers of earth and yet tKey exercise 
such influence over them as to bring about the will of God 
with the nations of earth. These angels evidently have a 
book of directions from God to guide them. The angel that 
directed the wars between the Greeks and Persians must 
have spoken of his guide books when he said: "But I will 
tell thee that which is inscribed in the writing of truth." 
Dan. 10—21. 

He also speaks of his work thus: "And now will I 
return to fight with the Prince of Persia: and when I go 
forth, lo the prince of Greece shall come." Dan. 10 — 20. 
And again, "But the prince of the kingdom of Persia with- 
stood me one and twenty days; but, lo Michael one of the 
chief princess came to help me: and I remained there with 
the kings of Persia." Dan. 10 — 13. We see from the last 
quotation that these angels help each other. 

I understand that these angels, each in his period, has 
supervision of the world's political affairs especially the 
wars. The angels that the sixth angel is told to loose are 
national angels, i. e., angels each of which is guiding some 
nation. I have known for thirty years that we were living 
under the sounding of the fifth angel and have watched the 
great war in Europe to see if the cixth angel had taken 
charge. But not yet, When he does every well-informed 
believer in God's word may know. The present methods of 
war will be changed, the soldiers largely if not altogther 
will ride manufactured horses with heads like lions and tails 



THE SEVEN TRUMPETS 



93 



like serpents. They will doubtless be run by motor power; 
their heads will be guns, perhaps machine guns. 

The prophets speak of war horses in the last days thus: 
"Their horses hoofs shall be accounted as flint, and their 
wheels as a whirlwind." Isa. 5 — 28. And, "The appear- 
ance of them is as the appearance of horses ; and as horse- 
men so do they run." Joel 2 — 4. 

When the sixth angel takes charge he w r ill raise a war in 
which 200,000,000 soldiers on this kind of horses will take 
part. They w T ill kill one-third of the men, or above 66,000,- 
000. The present war doesn't near reach the proportion of 
the war of the sixth angel, neither are the soldiers properly 
mounted. There was to be a woe under the sounding of 
the fifth, sixth and seventh angels. (Rev. 8 — 13). This war 
is likely the woe of the fifth angel, the other two to follow. 

THE TRUMPETS. 

We will now take up the seven trumpets. The trumpets 
were used in Bible times to call the people to war; hence 
these trumpets point out political or state affairs. Like 
the seven churches and the book with seven seals, they cover 
the intervening period between the first and second com- 
ing of Christ. 

The reader must understand, that not withstanding the 
fact that these trumpets point out state affairs, that such 
is and has been the connection between the Catholic and 
Protestant churches with state affairs, that John could not 
give a correct description of state matters without taking 
these institutions into consideration. The Pope, the head 
of the Catholic church for 1116 years, was not only one 
of the civil rulers of Europe, but that church was connec- 
ted with many of the states. The connection with the states 
was still kept up by the Protestant churches, after they 
had withdrawn from the Catholic church. No man that 



94 



BEASTS AND SEVENS OF REVELATIONS 



does not bear these things in mind will ever understand 
Revelations. 

Before we proceed with the trumpets, we make this 
statement. The trumpets and the red dragon of the twelfth 
chapter, and the two beasts of chapter thirteen, cover the 
same ground. John said of the red dragon, that his tail drew 
one-third of the stars of heaven and cast them to the ground, 
i. e., one-third of the true ministers of Christ would be 
killed by the civil power of the Roman empire. By the 
trumpets we learn this in addition, that this third was 
distributed down through the ages from Christ's time to 
the Lutheran reformation. 

The first trumpet. "And the first angel sounded, and 
there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they 
were cast upon the earth: and the third part of the earth 
was burnt up, and the third part of the trees was burnt 
up, and all green grass was burnt up." Rev. 8 — 7. This 
•trumpet covers about the first seven centuries of the 
Christian era, Paul said, speaking of the son of perdition, 
which is the Pope: "And now ye know what hinders that 
he might be revealed in his time. For the mystery of in- 
iquity doth already work : only he who now letteth will let, 
until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that 
wicked be revealed." Thes, 2—6, 7. The "mystery of 
iniquity," is Catholicism, (See Rev. 17 — 5), and it was 
already at work in Paul's day, but the Roman emperors 
occupied the throne at Rome, which was to be the Pope's 
throne, and hindered the development of the papal king- 
dom. But in the eighth century when the Roman emperor, 
whose seat then was at Constantinople, had become too 
weak to defend himself against the Lombards of Italy, the 
French King took twenty cities from the Lombards, which 
they had already taken from the emperor, and gave them to 
the Pope. He that hindered had been taken out of the way 



THE SEVEN TRUMPETS 



95 



and the Pope began his career as one of the sovereigns of 
Europe. Now as the second trumpet shows the setting 
up of the papal kingdom I conclude that the first covers 
the Christian era until that time. 

The first trumpet shows that one-third of Christ's ser- 
vants were killed during the period. That the trees spoken 
of under the sounding of this trumpet, are the ministers of 
the gospel. I think is proven in the sixty-first chapter of 
Isaiah. Our Savior read the passage at Nazareth, (Matt. 
4 — 16,) and applied it to himself. In speaking of those unto 
whom the gospel is preached, and whom Christ delivered 
from captivity, etc., the prophet says, "that they may be 
called trees of righteousness, the planting of Jehovah, that 
he may be glorified." Isa. 61 — 3. We see from the pro- 
phet that Christ's people were to be called trees. The 
grass (Isa. 40 — 7) that was burnt, is also "green" this indi- 
cates life, but the world is represented as dead in sin. The 
grass being green would point to Christ's people, also. I 
understand that the grass and the trees point to the churches 
and the ministry. Then one-third of Christ's people were 
destroyed during the period covered by the first trumpet. 
Xot all burnt by literal fire, fire is a symbol itself, and 
points to the heat of persecution during the period. 

Xow for the second trumpet. "And the second angel 
sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire 
was cast into the sea; and the third part of the sea became 
blood; and there died the third part of the creatures which 
were in the sea. even they that had life; and the third part 
of the ships was destroyed." Rev. 8 — 8, 9. The two lead- 
ing symbols of this passage are, mountain and sea. Daniel 
uses mountain to symbolize a kingdom (Dan. 2 — 35), and 
John said that waters are people (Rev. 17 — 15). Then 
we have it, a burning kingdom was to be established among 
the people. Has this been done? Certainly, when in the 



96 



BEASTS AND SEVENS OF REVELATIONS 



year 754 Pepin, King of France, gave the Pope of Rome 
twenty cities and started him on his career as a civil ruler,, 
the burning kingdom was set up. We will now offer some 
proof that the papal kingdom is the one symbolized by 
the burning mountain. Jeremiah 51 — 25: "I am against 
thee, destroying mountain/' and also, "and I will make 
thee a burnt mountain." This was Babylon; Rome is Baby- 
lon today. 

The fire of persecution which consumed Christ's people 
under the sounding of the first trumpet, was continued in 
this kingdom. This can be said of the papal kingdom as 
of no other; for even where other kingdoms persecuted 
Christ's people, they were usually moved thereto by the 
papal kingdom. Again, the seven-headed beast of chapter 
thirteen arose from the sea, and that beast is the papal 
kingdom beyond all question. They both arose from the 
same source. There were perhaps more reasons than one 
why the Savior should symbolize the papal kingdom by a 
burning mountain or volcano. First, of all the methods of 
torture and punishment practiced by the papal kingdom, 
burning was the favorite. To roast, to pinch with hot tongs, 
to burn at the stake, and to pour melted metal down the 
throats of their victims gave them innate satsifaction. But 
perhaps the tendency of the papal kingdom to eruption and 
breaking out in new places is the Savior's main reason for 
thus symbolizing it. To say nothing of the past, its future, 
according to the sure word of prophecy, is truly awfuL 
While today this volcano seems to be in a state of dormancy 
and inactivity it is all deception, it is only gathering strength 
tfor the most dreadful overflow the earth has ever seen. 
The whole world is deceived by the apparent dormancy. 
They actually believe the fires of this mountain are gone 
out. Is this ignorance of God's word, or a disbelief in the 
Scriptures? We are assured by God's word that, at the 



THE SEVEN TRUMPETS 



97 



very last of this age that there will be an eruption of this 
volcano, when, with its burning lava it will overflow the 
entire earth, threatening even the extermination of the 
liuman race. 

Our Savior said, "For then shall be great tribulation, such 
as hath not been from the beginning of the world until now, 
no, nor ever shall be. And except those days had been 
shortened, no flesh would have been saved: but for the 
elect's sake those days shall be shortened. Then if any 
man shall say unto you, Lo here is the Christ, or there; 
believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false 
prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; so as to 
lead astray, if possible, even the elect." Matt. 24 — 21-24. 
The Savior's language in this passage applies to the very 
time of this papal volcano's last and greatest erruption, and 
he said, "except those days had been shortened, no flesh 
would have been saved." And the king of this papal king- 
dom is the chief of all those false Christs of which he 
speaks. 

We will now return to the persecution of God's people 
by the volcano kingdom. Their condition was not bettered 
by its rise. They paid the toll of one-third their numbers 
to gratify the blood-thirsty taste of the monster. We read : 
"And there died the third part of the creatures which were 
in the sea, even they that had life; and the third part of 
the ships was destroyed." As distinguished from all others 
in the Scriptures, real believers in Christ are said to be 
alive. One-third of all these were destroyed by this burning 
mountain being cast into the sea. The ships spoken of are 
the ships of state. This points unerringly to the papal 
kingdom; for of all kingdoms it has shown the worst dis- 
position to interfere in the governments of other countries. 

"And the third angel sounded, and there fell from heaven 
a great star, burning as a torch, and it fell upon the third 



98 



BEASTS AND SEVENS OF REVELATIONS 



part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of the waters ; 
and the name of the star is called Wormwood ; and the third 
part of the waters became wormwood ; and many men died 
of the waters, because they were made bitter/' Rev. 8 — 
10, 11. 

Christ explained to John in the first chapter of Reve- 
lations that the stars which he held in his hand were the 
angels of the churches, i. e., the pastors or messengers of the 
churches. But the star under consideration is a fallen star,, 
i. e., he doesn't belong to the church, he is a Catholic priest. 
Peter the hermit, exactly suits the description of this star, 
both as to the age in which he lived and the work he did. 
In the eleventh century "pilgrimage to Jerusalem being 
the prevailing passion in the religion of the times, it was 
not unlikely that Peter should be influenced by it. Accord- 
ingly he resolved to undergo the pains and perils of the 
journey." The Crusades P. 22. Peter was so stirred by the 
sufferings of the Christians under the Mohammedans of the 
East, that he determined to arouse the Christian nations of 
the West to war against the Mohammedans, in an effort to 
wrest the "holy sepulcher" of Jerusalem from the hands of 
the Turks. That the reader may understand Peter's indus- 
try in this matter we quote: "On his arrival the Hermit 
lost no time in seeking out the Pope, Urban II., who then 
occupied the papal chair. Urban received him kindly, and 
promised his hearty co-operation in the general scheme of 
the crusade. Thus encouraged and inflamed with what 
was mistaken for a divine zeal, he quickly passed through 
Italy, crossed the Alps, and traversing all the countries of 
Europe, went from court to court and from castle to castle 
declaring the miseries of the holy city, imploring the needed 
succor and invoking vengeance on the Turks." The Crusades 
P. 24. Peter so far succeeded in his work, that army after 
army started to Jerusalem, and even thousands of women 



THE SEVEN TRUMPETS 



99 



.and children, if not to fight, at least on pilgrimage. Thes'3 
nearly all perished. These crusades continued for two 
hundred years. Jerusalem was finally taken and held for a 
time by them. But the waters were made bitter by the star 
Wormwood, and many men died of the w T aters because they 
ivere made bitter. 

The reader will doubtless notice that there is nothing to 
indicate that the men which died by these bitter waters 
were believers in Christ, they were not, they w T ere Moham- 
-medans and Catholics. This star fell on the rivers and foun- 
tains of waters. The Catholic church in Revelations is 
among other symbols, symbolized by the sea. The rivers 
and fountains from which this sea is filled, are governments 
and kingdoms. It was on this kind of rivers and fountains 
that the star fell. 

"And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of 
the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and 
the third part of the stars; that the third part of them 
should be darkened, and the day should not shine for the 
third part of it, and the night in like manner." Revelations 
8 — 12. As the sun is the light of the physical world, the 
Bible is the light of ,the spiritual world. The Catholic 
council at Toulouse in France in the year 1229 declared 
"both the old and new Testaments heretical books, and 
not to be read by the common people." In that, the said 
council smote the sun of the spiritual world. It has been 
the policy of the Catholic church ever since to suppress 
the reading of the Scriptures. As a consequence of this 
policy, people become lawless so the moon was smitten: 
for as the Bible which contains God's laws, is symbolized 
by the sun, the laws of the nations are symbolized by the 
moon. The stars were also smitten. The st*rs point to 
Christ's ministers. We only call attention to this fact that 
one-third of their number was smitten during the period 



100 



BEASTS AND SEVENS OF REVELATIONS 



of the fourth trumpet, which began with the thirteenth 
and ended with the fifteenth century. 

We* now come to the fifth trumpet. "And the fifth 
angel sounded and I saw a star from heaven fallen unto 
the earth : and there was givien unto him the key of the 
pit of the abyss. And he opened the pit of the abyss; and 
there went up a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a 
great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by 
reason of the smoke of the pit. And out of the smoke 
came forth locust upon the earth; and power was given 
them, as the scorpions of the earth have power. And it 
was said unto them that they should not hurt the grass of 
the earth neither any green thing, neither any tree, but only 
such men as have not the seal of God on their foreheads. 
And it was given them that they should not kill them, but 
that they should be tormented five months, and their tor- 
ment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a 
man. And in those days men shall seek death, and in no 
wise find it; and they shall desire to die, and death fleeth 
from them. And the shapes of the locusts were like unto 
horses prepared for war ; and upon their heads were crowns 
like unto gold, and their faces were as the fades of men. 
And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth 
were as the teeth of lions. And they had breastplates, as it 
were, breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings 
was as the sound of chariots of many horses rushing to war. 
And they have tails like unto scorpions and stings; and in 
their tails is their power to hurt men five months. They 
have over them as king the angel of the abyss; his name 
in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in the Greek tongue he hath 
the name Apollyon." Rev. 9 — 1-12. The first thing to do 
in order to understand symbolical language, is- to get the 
meaning of the symbols used. John in the Revelations, 
especially in his leading symbols, somiewhere in the book 



THE SEVEN TRUMPETS 



101 



tell us plainly what ho means by the symbols, or he uses 
.symbols explained in other Scriptures, or he uses his sym- 
bol in such a way that its meaning need not be misunder- 
stood. In the passage we w r ill now consider the leading 
symbols are the fallen star and the abyss. 

The Savior, himself, in Revelations, chapter one, verse 
twenty, identified the stars and the angels as the same, he 
then identified the angels as the pastors of the churches 
by addressing the letters of the churches to the angels. 
The angels, themselves, told John that they were his fellow 
servants. This makes it certain that the pastors or teach- 
ers of the church arte symbolized by stars or angels. Bat 
the star in the passage being a fallen star indicates that 
while a pastor or teacher he is not of Christ's church. 

The abyss is a symbol not explained by John, but used 
in such a way that its meaning need not be misunderstood, 
in fact, he has used it in such connection with his explained 
symbols, that it would be hard to misunderstand what he 
means. For instance the abyss has an angel, i. e., a pastor; 
not only this, but that angel or pastor he points out as a 
king. Now, as the Roman Catholic church is the only 
institution under heaven that has a pastor, and that pastor 
a king, we are driven to conclude that the abyss symbolizes 
that church. Not only this, he uses the word in the seven- 
teenth chapter in connection with another of his explained 
symbols, in such a way as to drive us to the same con- 
clusion. In that chapter he points out that when the 
beast, which is the Pope, regains his throne that he will 
ascend from the abyss. Now as the papal throne can be 
ascended in no way except through the pastorate of the 
Catholic church, we have it again. 

Then if the fallen star is a. Catholic priest, and the 
abyss is the Catholic church, has any such thing happened 
to that church as described when the fifth angel sounded? 



102 



BEASTS AND SEVENS OF REVELATIONS 



And if so was it brought about by a Catholic priest? Most 
certainly, just such a thing happened and it was brought 
about by Martin Luther, one of her own priests, and it is 
known as the Lutheran reformation. Luther being one of 
her own priests had the key, so to speak, of that church and 
lie proceeded to open it. The agitation that followed is well 
symbolized by the "smoke of a great furnace." The agita- 
tion being of a religious character, the Scriptures as a mat- 
ter of course were brought into the discussions. It haa 
been the policy of the Catholic church for 300 years to sup- 
press the reading of the Bible, and even where it was read it 
had been misconstrued as much as possible, in order to 
bring it in lines with the corrupt teaching of that church. 
Luther, himself, was raised and educated under that system. 
Xo wonder John says, "the sun and the air were darkened 
by reason of the smoke of the pit." The sun is the Bible 
and when both parties to the discussion were educated under 
the same corrupt system, when they undertook to use the 
Scriptures, would "darken" them by misinterpretation. The 
sun, or the Bible, was not only darkened by the smoke or 
agitation, but locusts came out of the snloke upon the earth. 
This is a fine symbol of that brood of reformers that fol- 
lowed in the wake of Luther. It was said unto these 
locusts, "that they should not hurt the grass, neither the 
trees, nor any green thing." As w r as pointed out while con- 
sidering the first trumpet, these trees, grass and green 
things symbolize the church of the Lord Jesus and her 
ministry. It, at the time of the Lutheran reformation, ex- 
isted in almost all the countries of Europe, according to 
historians, and I might say I suppose was most generally 
known as the Anabaptist, especially in Germany. The 
reformers had been taught by the Catholic church from 
infancy to hate and persecute the church of Christ, and did 
after their separation from the Roman church, persecute 



THE SEVEN TRUMPETS 



103 



and kill many of the church of Christ, but be it said to their 
credit that in the main they have carried out their instruc- 
tion not to hurt the grass or trees. It is not the policy of 
the Protestants to persecute. Especially does this seem so 
if we remember that until the reformation 1529 the Catholic 
church, according to Revelations, had regularly destroyed 
one-third of the church, through all these ages. These 
locusts were to sting those which had not the seal of God 
in their foreheads. I believe that any one might see how 
these Protestants might sting the ungodly, but that all may 
understand it from a Bible standpoint I quote from the 
prophet: 'The elder and the honorable man, he is the 
head; and the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the tail. For 
they that lead this people cause them to err ; and they that 
are led of them are destroyed. " Isa. 9 — 15, 16. In speak- 
ing of the nation of Israel the prophet that taught lies was 
the tail, so I would understand in the different bodies of 
Protestants the teachers that teach lies are the tails. The 
stings with which they stung the ungodly were in their 
tails. It may be said that the prophet in the quotation 
taught lies, I reply, that not all taught by Protestants is 
truth, if we consider God's word the truth. 

The men, or at least part of them, stung by these locusts 
sought to die and death fled from them. If this is a death 
to sin they sought, as I suspect, we can readily see how 7 
they failed to find it. Such is the ignorance of many of 
these teachers of the plan of salvation, that after they have 
stung the sinner and he seeks death to sin they are unable 
to tell him how to find it. 

The Savior, himself said, "Strive to enter in, for many 
shall strive and not be able." These locusts had hair as the 
hair of women. A woman is the symbol of a capital city. 
The glory of a capital city is her reigning power. A 
woman's hair is her glory. These locusts didn't have the hair 



104 



BEASTS AND SEVENS OF REVELATIONS 



of women, but hair as the hair of women, i. e., the authority 
and legislative power exercised by Protestants in their gen- 
eral conferences, synods, councils, etc., is like that of capi- 
tal cities. 

The locust's teeth were as the teeth of lions. The teeth 
of lions are their implements of war, and as a lion s tooth 
in the mouth of a locust, so are many of the guns of Prot- 
estants, in their hands. The locust would be perfectly help- 
less under the tooth of a lion, so would the Protestants be 
under many of his guns, so he handles his gun by machinery. 

At the time John used this illustration it doubtless seemed 
extravagant, but we see today that it was not. This should 
teach us never to doubt any prophecy of God's word no 
matter how incredible it may seem. These locusts had 
breastplates, as it were, breastplates of iron; this doubtless 
points to the great amount of iron and steel used on war 
vessels and fortresses to protect Protestants from the guns 
of enemies. "The sound of their wings was as the sound 
of chariots, of many horses rushing to war." The wings of 
the locust are his means of travel. The Protestant uses 
steam ships, cars, etc., as wings, the sound of which, "is 
like the sound of chariots, of many horses rushing to war." 
"x4nd their power was to hurt men five months." At thirty 
days per month that would be one hundred and fifty days, 
prophetical one hundred and fifty years. The beast, or 
Pope, was given power to continue twelve hundred and sixty 
years. (Rev. 13 — 5}. The Pope began to reign in 754 and 
was dethronied in 1870, that gives him, if the time is counted 
on him, while he is off of the throne, 144 years to reign 
when he regains his throne. When he regains his throne 
these locust, or Protestants, will have him as king. John 
said, "they had a king over them, which is the angel of the 
abyss." The angel of the abyss and the beast of the abyss 
are one: for the angel or pastor of the abyss is the beast 



THE SEVEN TRUMPETS 



105 



or kng of the abyss. The abyss as shown before is the 
Roman Catholic church. I understand the one hundred 
and fifty years when these locusts or Protestants are to so 
hurt the ungodly, to be after the Pope regains his throne 
when these locusts own him king. 

We will now take up the sixth trumpet. If I under- 
stand correctly we live near the time when this trumpet will 
be sounded. It will be known by the following described 
war. "And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice 
from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, 
saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Looce 
the four angels which are bound in the great river Eu- 
phrates. And the four angels weie loosed, which were 
prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, 
for to slay the third part of men. And the number of the 
army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thous- 
and: and I heard the number of them. And thus I saw 
the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having 
breastplates of fire, and of jacinth and brimstone: and the 
heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out 
of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone. By 
these three was the third part of men killed by the fire, and 
by the smoke and by the brimstone, which issued out of 
their mouths. For their power is in their mouth, and in 
their tails: for their tails were like unto serpents, and had 
heads, and with them they do hurt." Rev. 9—13-20. The 
field of this great war is the river Euphrates, or the Turkish 
empire, or at least the war will be connected with that 
country in some way. Four great powers take part in th.6 
war. As in the periods covered by the first four trumpets, 
one-third of the church was killed in this the first of the 
great wars with which this age will end, onie-third of men are 
killed. But notwithstanding the awful carnage of this ter- 
rible war no repentance is manifest in them that are left. 



106 



BEASTS AND SEVENS OF REVELATIONS 



If the King James' version, from which I quote, is correct 
the preparation for the great war was made three hundred 
and ninety-six years before the war comes off, for that 
is the sum in days of the month, day, year, etc. And if 
that version is correct I should name the Lutheran refor- 
mation as the time that preparation was made for the 
great conflict; because at that time the Catholic church 
was split into the different divisions of Protestantism, and 
the great preparation for war began which has continued 
until the nations are impoverished by it. If that is the date 
the war should begin in 1925. The Augsburg confession 
was signed in 1529, and if we consider this the beginning of 
the reformation the three hundred and ninety-six added to 
the 1529 brings the time to 1925. If, however, the new 
version is correctly translated, the preparation to kill one- 
third of men was made for a specific time, and the war 
is likely to start at any time. The fifth angel sounded evi- 
dently at the reformation and the time since then would 
warrant us in looking for the sign of the sixth angel. 

The horses used in this great war are evidently symbols, 
since no such horses as those described ever existed. If 
.symbols, what do they symbolize? Guns evidently. 

It seems that guns are to be mounted and ridden as horses. 
The heads of the horses in this war were like the heads of 
lions. If the horses are manufactured they can be made 
in any shape to suit the manufacturer. That these horses 
are guns mounted to ride, is manifest from the fact that 
'fire, smoke and brimstone issues from their mouths, and 
from the further fact that one-third of men were killed by 
these things. 

Another peculiarity of these horses was that their tails 
were like serpents and had heads, with which they did hurt. 
This also can be arranged by the manufacturer and run by 
the same motor that moves the horse. The skeptic, a few 



THE SEVEN TRUMPETS 



107 



years hence, will have the privilege of asking himself "how 
John knew all these things so long before they came to 
pass." 

So much is to occur under the sounding of the sixth 
angel that John devotes almost two extra chapters to their 
consideration. He devotes the tenth chapter to the angel 
with the little book opened, and the eleventh to the killing 
of the witnesses, which we have examined in another place. 
The eleventh chapter also gives an account of the sound- 
ing of the seventh angel. At that time Christ takes charge 
of this world, "then is finished the mystery of God, according 
to the good tiding which He declared to His servants the 
prophets.' 7 Rev. 10 — 7. 

"And the seventh angel sounded; and there followed great 
voices in heaven, and they said, -"The kingdoms of the world 
is become the kingdom of our Lord and his Christ: and he 
shall reign for ever and ever. And the four and twenty 
elders, who sit before God on their thrones, fell upon their 
faces and worshiped God, saying, We give thee thanks, 
Lord God the Almighty, w T ho art and who wast; because 
thou hast taken thy great power, and didst reign. And 
the nations were angry, and thy wrath came, and the time 
of the dead to be judged, and the time to give their reward 
to thy servants the prophets, and to the saints and to them 
that fear thy name, the small and the great: and to destroy 
them that destroy the learth. And there was opened the 
temple of God that is in heaven ; and there was seen in His 
temple the ark of His covenant ; and there followed light- 
nings, and voices, and thunders, and an earthquake and 
great hail." Rev. 11 — 15-19. The first thing Christ does 
when he takes charge of this earth is to reward his servants. 
He will come in the clouds of heaven with the voice of the 
arch-angel and the trump of God, he will raise the righte- 
ous dead, and change the living saints, and we shall all be 



108 



BEASTS AND SEVENS OF REVELATIONS 



caught up to meet him in the air. And perhaps while we 
are still in the air we will pass before the judgment seat of 
Christ and each receive his reward. Be it observed that 
the prophets and the saints are rewarded at the same time, 
and that it will not take place until this trumpet sounds. 
I understand that at this time, also, will take place the 
marriage of Christ and his church. See 19th chap. 

Then comes the destruction of them who destroy the 
earth. The Pope at this time will be at the head of the 
entire earth, dealing death and destruction right and left. 
His name will be Abaddon in Hebrew, Apollyon in Greek; 
Smyth says in his Bible dictionary that the Hebrew word 
is an abstract term signifying destruction. The name of 
the man on the pale horse is Death. This is the pow T er 
that will support the Pope in his pretensions. Is it not our 
country? Death and destruction will be cast alive into a 
lake of fire burning with brimstone. And their armies 
slain and given to the fowls and beasts for food. Let no 
man say that the papal kingdom is ended. It's wounded 
that's all. 



THE SEVEN LAST PLAGUES 



109 



Chapter 10. 
THE SEVEN LAST PLAGUES. 

The seven churches, the book with seven seals, and the 
seven trumpets are all prophetical and cover the time from 
the first to the second coming of Christ. The seven last 
plagues are different, these constitute a cycle to them- 
selves, and as they are to be in the main poured on the 
dragon and the beasts of the twelfth and thirteenth chap- 
ters John gives their history before he mentions the plagues. 
They are to be poured out in the very last of this age, and 
wall not in all probability last more than fifty years, per- 
haps not more than seven. It is safe to say that none of 
them 'have yet been poured out. We can tell by a certain 
stage in the history of the beasts when they begin and in 
the same way when they end. 

These plagues are not to be confounded with the three 
great woes spoken of under the sounding of the trumpets. 

Let us now proceed to examine the plagues. "And the 
first went and poured out his vial upon the earth; and 
there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which 
had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshiped 
liis image." Rev. 16 — 2. As John points out specifically 
the class of people upon whom this plague will fall, he 
enables us to tell to a certainty that this, the first of 
plagues, has not been poured out yet and can't be until 
Italy and the two-horned beast, which certainly is the 
United States of America, has an image made to him, and 
causes all to wear his mark or name in their foreheads or 
right hands. This angel poured out his vial upon the earth, 
and it took effect upon the image worshippers, and upon 
those who had the mark of the beast. 

The second angel poured his vial upon the sea. The 
earth is a symbol of the various denominations of Prot- 



110 



BEASTS AND SEVENS OF REVELATIONS 



estants, and the sea is a symbol of the Catholic church. 
John has not left us to guess altogether as to what these 
woras signify. He tells us plainly, 'The waters which thou 
sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, 
■and nations, and tongues." This harlot is the city of Rome, 
and the waters are the people over which she reigns, which 
peoples constitute the Catholic church. 

In the thirteenth chapter John shows us two beasts, one 
with ten horns, the other with two. The beast with ten 
horns arose from the sea, the beas 1 w n two horns arose 
from the earth. In the seventeenth chapter John makes 
it too plain for us to question that the ten-horned beast 
is the papal kingdom. That the papal kingdom arose from 
the Catholic church goes without saying. John describes 
the two-horned beast so particularly, and his description 
fits the United States so nicely that there is no room to 
doubt as to what country is meant. 

That the United States arose from Protestant colonies 
from Europe is well known. I take it without a question 
that when the earth and sea are used in such connection 
as they are in these plagues, and where the beasts arose, and 
in the tenth chapter where the angel placed his right foot 
on the sea, and his left foot on the earth, that the sea is the 
Catholic church and the earth the Protestant churches. 
Now if this is correct, and who can doubt it, we can see 
at once why the angel should place his right foot on the 
sea and his left foot on the earth. It is because John 
told us plainly what is symbolized by the sea, but has left 
to reason and analogy as to what the earth symbolized. But 
as circumstancial evidence is often as convincing as that of 
the eye-witness, so it is in this case. 

Then as the earth symbolizes Protestantism we can locate 
the field of this plague. The reader doubtless remembers 
that the two-horned beast, which arose out of the earth, 



THE SEVEN LAST PLAGUES 



111 



originated the image and the mark of the beast, so when 
the angel pours his vial upon the earth it takes effect upon 
the image worshippers, and upon those which have the 
mark of the beast. 

A sad commentary upon the boasted civilization of this 
age, that it should wind-up in hero worship, yea even in the 
worship of the image of their hero, wearing his name or his 
mark as a badge of service. Can it mitigate, the offense in 
the sight of God, that through chicanery they cause their 
image to speak and breathe? Paul in speaking of their 
hero, which is the Pope, says, "Even him, whose coming 
is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and 
lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteous- 
ness in them that perish ; because they received not the love 
of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause 
God shall send them strong delusion, that they should 
believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believe 
not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness." 2 Thes. 
2—9-12. 

So the angel pours his vial of wrath upon them, "And 
there fell a noisome and grevious sore upon the men which 
had the mark of the beast, and upon them which wor- 
shipped his image." 

"And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea : 
and it became as the blood of a dead man : and every living 
soul died in the sea." Rev. 16 — 3. The sea is the Catholic 
church, and we have already seen that the witnesses, which 
are the true churches, have power over waters to turn them 
to blood. But as to whether this angel turns the s;ea. or 
Catholic church, to blood, i. e., to a bloodthirsty body, by 
turning the witnesses loose on her or in some other way 
we may not be able to tell, but from the effect of the plague 
I judge that he will. For every living soul died in the sea. 
This doubtless shows that every child of God will be killed 



112 BEASTS AND SEVENS OF REVELATIONS 

within the bounds of that church. We learn from the angel 
of the tenth chapter, that John will be put to prophesying 
again, and this cannot be done without exposing the Catho- 
lic church and her daughters. That the living souls which 
w r ere in the sea and died, were God's people we have proof 
when the next angel poured out his vial. "And the third 
angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of 
waters; and they became blood. And I heard the angel of 
the waters say, Thou art righteous, Lord, which art and 
wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus. For 
they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou 
Last given them blood to drink; for they are worthy." Rev. 
16 — 4-6. The rivers and fountains of waters which are 
turned to blood are the kingdoms and governments from 
which the Catholic sea or church is filled. They are stirred 
to blood and from the reading take great vengeance on the 
Catholics for the wholesale butchery of God's people. But 
this is not the utter destruction of that church. We will 
find that when the last angel pours out his vial, if these 
saints and prophets are the witnesses of the eleventh chap- 
ter, which as have been shown, are the true churches of 
Christ, they will only lie dead three years and a half. It 
seems more than probable that they are; for the Pope 
is to kill them after he has been healed of his wound. In 
that 'event these plagues will probably be all poured out 
in the space of seven years. After the vengeance taken 
for the butchery of the saints, John also said, "And I heard 
the altar saying. Yea, Lord God the Almighty, true and 
righteous are thy judgments." The altar here is put for 
those who are butchered, as the Jrws burnt the beasts of 
their sacrifice on the altar. This then is the beginning of 
God's judgment on the Catholic chuich. God will use the 
Pope and the Kings of earth to blot that church from under 
heaven, as anyone can see by reading the seventeenth and 



THE SEVEN LAST PLAGUES 



113 



eighteenth chapters of Revelations. It is perhaps, because 
of this tremendous task, that God gives the Pope such 
power when he regains his throne. 

"And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun ; 
and power was given unto him to scorch men w^ith fire. 
And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed 
the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: 
and they repented not to give him glory." Rev. 16 — 8, 9. 
The Holy Scriptures are the light of the spiritual world, as 
the sun is of the physical world. The sun is a symbol of 
the Scriptures. The time comes when the prophets will be 
understood as our common school books. Daniel says: 
"But thou, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, 
even to the time of the end." And again, "for the words 
are shut up and sealed till the time of the end." Dan. 12 — 
4-9. But at the time of the end the seal will be broken 
and the book opened, i. e., the prophecy will be plainly 
understood. Again John says: "And the angel that I saw 
standing upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his 
right hand to heaven, and swore by him that liveth for 
ever and ever, who created the heaven and the things that 
are therein, and the earth and the things that are therein, 
and the sea and the things that are therein, that there shall 
be delay no longer; but in the days of the voice of the 
seventh angel, when he is about to sound, then is finished 
the mystery of God, according to the good tidings which he 
declared to his servants the prophets." Rev. 10 — 5-7. 

Truly at the time of this plague the seventh angel is 
about to sound, then is finished the mystery of God. What 
more awful plague could at this time be sent upon the earth 
than to come suddenly to understand God's word? Would 
not its truths scorch them with great heat? Think of them 
bowing to the Pope as to God, yea engaged in the w r orship 
of his image. And the whole earth will be engaged in that 



114 



BEASTS AND SEVENS OJf REVELATIONS 



with one exception, "And all that dwell upon the ear tlx 
shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book 
of life of the lamb slain from the foundation of the world." 
Rev. 13 — 8. That the book of Revelations will be under- 
stood at that time, John says: "And he said unto me, Thou 
must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and 
tongues, and kings." There was a time doubtless, when the 
Revelations of John were understood, at least by the true 
churches, and all that is necessary, in order to have him 
prophesy again, before the people is to correctly interpret 
the Revelations to them. This work is an effort in that 
direction. 

"And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat 
of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and 
they gnawed their tongues for pain, and blasphemed the 
God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and 
repented not of their deeds." Rev. 16 — 10, 11. As this 
plague is poured upon the seat of the Pope it doubtless in- 
dicates that a tremendous effort will be made at that time 
to dethrone him. The extent of the rebellion against him 
can be judged from the statement that "his kingdom was 
full of darkness." The insurrection fails, and the fearful 
vengeance he takes is tersely stated in the words, "And 
they gnawed their tongues for pain. " Perhaps in this rebel- 
lion lies the cause for the Pope turning against his church. 
The kings which support him, perhaps already hate that 
church. John says: "And the ten horns which thou sawest 
upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make 
her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh and burn 
her with fire." Rev. 17—16. "And the sixth angel poured 
out his vial upon the great river Euphrates, and the water 
thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east 
might be prepared." There is so much that occurs when 



THE SEVEN LAST PLAGUES 



115 



this vial is poured out that we will comment as we proceed 
to quote. 

The Euphrates here is the Mjohammedan power. That 
power now has possession of the land of Caanan, the Jews' 
old home. But it is the teaching of the prophets that be- 
fore the return of Christ the Jews will have returned to their 
old home and reestablished their ancient worship. Now as 
the Turks still control their country and temple it becomes 
necessary to dry up the waters, or people of the Moham- 
medan power, before the prophets can be fulfilled. The 
kings of the east, or as the new revision has it, the kings 
which come from the sunrising, are Christ and his kings 
that he brings with him. Such a band of kings as he will 
bring with him has never been seen before. He will bring 
kings enough to properly govern all the nations of the earth, 
he will not leave a nation with their present government 
of rulers unmolested, but will set his own kings over all. 

"And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of 
the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the 
beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet." The 
dragon in this passage is the territory once covered by the 
Roman empire. At the time of this vial of wrath it w T ill 
be divided into ten parts and governed by ten kings. These 
ten kings will mutually agree to give the strength of their 
kingdoms to the Pope. John says: "These have one minci 
and shall give their power and strength unto the beast." 
Rev. 17 — 13. And again, "For God hath put in their hearts 
to fulfill his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto 
the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled." Rev. 
17 — 17. The beast in the passage is the Pope and the 
false prophet is the United States. The two-horned beast 
of chapter thirteen is the false prophet, and as I have shown 
in another place that it is the United States I leave it here. 

By the authority of these three powers all the nations of 



116 



BEASTS AND SEVENS OF REVELATIONS 



the earth are gathered to the great battle of Armageddon. 
This is doubtless the battle of the Winepress (Rev. 14—20). 
In that battle the blood will run "even unto the horse 
bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred fur- 
longs." "For they are the spirits of devils, working mir- 
acles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the 
whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day 
of God Almighty. Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is 
he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk 
naked, and they see his shame. And he gathered them to- 
gether into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armaged- 
don." Rev. 16 — 14-16. It seems that Christ comes during 
the gathering of the nations to the great battle. This is 
doubtless when he comes into the air, "with the voice of 
the Archangel and the trump of God/' raises the' righteous 
dead, translates the living saints, and calls them up to meet 
him in the air. Although he doesn't seem to interfere with 
the gathering nations he evidently excites them. John 
says: "Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall 
see him, and they also which pierced him, and all kindreds 
of the earth shall wail because of him." Rev. 1 — 7. Again, 
"And the kings of the earth, and the princes, and the chief 
captains, and the rich, and the strong, and every bondman 
and freeman, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks 
of the mountains: and they say to the mountains and to 
the rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him 
that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the lamb : 
for the great day of their wrath is come; and who is able 
to stand?" Rev. 6 — 15-17. After Christ gets his people and 
retires from the sight of the nations, "the door is shut." 
(Matt. 25 — 10), the fell spirits continue their work of 
gathering the nations. And as Ahab was enticed to 
Ramothgilead, to his death, by "a lying spirit in the mouth 
of his prophets," (1 King 22 — 22), so the nations of the 



THE SEVEN LAST PLAGUES 



117 



whole woiid ; notwithstanding that they were eyewitnesses 
to the power and majesty of Christ, suffer themselves to be 
gathered by the "Spirits of devils working miracles/' to be 
slaughtered and given to the beasts and fowls for food. 
Micaiah told Ahab about the lying spirit and the intention 
of the Lord to kill him, but still he went, so will it be with 
the nations. So much for unbelief. "And the seventh 
angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great 
voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne saying, 
It is done. And there were voices and thunders, and light- 
nings, and there was a great earthquake such as was not since 
men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so 
great. And the great city was divided into three parts, and 
the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in 
remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the 
wine of the fierceness of his wrath. And every island fled 
away, and the mountains were not found. And there fell 
upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the 
weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of 
the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceed- 
ing great/' Rev. 16 — 17-21. The gathering of the nations 
spoken of when the preceding vial was poured out, is doubt- 
less still going on while this vial is being poured out. 

So while the gathering is going on God remembers great 
Babylon to give "her the cup of the wine of the fierceness 
of his wrath." Babylon is the Catholic church and this is 
her destruction. 

The destruction of that church has already been examined 
so we only call attention to the fact that it occurs while the 
last plague is being poured out, and is a part thereof. The 
greatest earthquake since man dwelt on the earth and an 
awful hail also constitute part of the plague. The earth- 
quake overthrows the cities of the nations and divides the 
great city, which is Rome, into three parts. "Men bias- 



118 



BEASTS AND SEVENS OF REVELATIONS 



phemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the 
"plague thereof was exceeding great/' No wonder our 
Savior said, "Pray ye that ye may be accounted worthy to 
escape the things that are coming on the earth and to 
stand before the son of man/' 



FINIS. 



